AOGG 2017
by hecalledmecarrots
Summary: What if the Avonlea kids were millennium kids... some things never grow old! Follows the gang through their young life into adulthood, as such it moves through their lives. Themes of Early adulthood and life in relation to that age.
1. AOGG Chapter 1

Greetings Fellow Anne-Fans!

I was asked some time ago now if I'd ever consider writing my own modern day Anne series. I don't know if it was a hint from the person or not, I don't even know if they'll read it, but I know its been on the back of my mind, until now! I actually have most of the idea planned out until the end of university, and obviously not everything shows up in the same order either! But its mine! For the time being this is chapter one of my 2017 Anne of Green Gables!

My story at least to start with, focuses on Anne's and Gilbert's developing relationship, they have a very hot and cold relationship because you know something... you can't avoid the boy you hate in high school!

I hope you all enjoy

love

Carrots x

* * *

"Heyyyy Gil-man!" Charlie shouted as Gilbert came through the door at in the high school. "Finally decided to join us here in the junior year!" He finished high fiving his friend.

"Finally!" Gilbert replied with a cocky grin to his friend. "Hey, get me to my locker…" he started with his friend.

"No fear its right next to mine, on the jocks line." He said with a smile.

"Thanks man. Just as well I got elected before the end of last term, otherwise I never would have made class president." He said sweeping the hair from off his forehead as Charlie showed him his locker.

"Nor the football team captain either, especially above a senior." Charlie commented, though secretly delighted in the news Gil wouldn't be starting junior year right on time, it meant he as his number two got to be class president and football team captain, even if it was temporary. "How's your pap doing now?" Charlie asked out of genuine concern. "All better? I know the last few rounds of chemo can be rough."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Gilbert almost muttered but knew better then to moan to a Sloane. "He's getting there, we were over in Toronto they have the best hospital there for the treatment. Hence, home-schooling for two months!" Gilbert said wincing to which Charlie laughed.

"Not your thing?" Charlie asked.

"Well…" He started. "Oh hey boys…" he greeted as other football team members came over to greet their captain back.

"Glad to see you…" Fred smiled.

"Welcome back Gil…" Moody smiled.

"You've been in good hands I take it?" Gilbert falsely asked knowing Charlie wouldn't quite do the job as he saw fit but would keep the boys on target. The boys started to describe the kind of training Charlie had led them in when his concentration momentarily distracted as he saw Diana Barry walk by, but it wasn't Diana who caught his eye.

A girl who was so slender it boarder on skinny walked with her. She had a pair of jeans on with… was that a 'the clash' tee shirt, very cool! Vintage bands! He liked it! She wore her red hair in two long pigtails and wore huge framed glasses (atop her perfect nose which… did she have freckles?) which he was sure was magnifying her eyes because no one had eyes that big! He watched them talking and walking as they went past when he noticed the girl with the eyes and hair watched him as he watched her. He flashed a lopsided grin which won every girl over, except her. She was frowning at him! Did she disapprove of him already?! He bit his lip down watching her for a second before his bottom lip protruded, he smiled and gave her a wink (Which was sure to charm her right?) To which she gave a scolding look and she instantly turned her head away as she continued to listen to Diana Barry chatter on.

His heart nearly fell onto his sleeve!

Did she just ignore him?!

On purpose!

No one had done that to him since he was six!

"…well I'm glad I left you in such good hands." He said to make sure the boys knew he was actually paying attention to what they were saying.

"Gil _bert_!" he heard a sweet and whining voice coming from the door as it opened.

His heart dropped as the head cheerleader and her cheer friends came over.

"Oh, hey Josie…" he said to her, "how's the cheer squad doing?" he asked the group of girls hoping to start a group conversation between the two groups rather than having to face a one on one discussion with Josie. It worked for all of about 30 seconds when Josie pulled him out of the group.

"You know Gil…" she trailed coming closer to him then he liked so he stepped back trying to be a gentleman until he was backed into the lockers and he couldn't back off any further where he found himself pressed against them. "There's an expectation or a high school myth really that the football team captain dates the head cheerleader. I'm the head cheerleader now you know?" she said battering her eyelashes at him.

"Really?" he said almost choking on his own breath. "Dating you say? I'm afraid I never heard that one before."

Josie giggled in a high pitched which made Gilbert's hair stand on end. "You have now!" she squealed.

"Yeah thanks for that Josie," he tried as she continued the high pitched laughter.

The school bell rang where he almost sighed in relief.

"Oh hey what do you have first period?" she asked him.

"Oh advanced Chem." He told her.

She huffed "Oh that's a real shame Gil." She sighed. "I have gym, you know I'm majoring in gym, it means I only have to take another two classes all semester!" she fluttered as they entered their home room.

"Oh?" he said. "You don't say?" he said. "Just two." He said flatly. "well as always a pleasure Miss Pye." He said with a smile as he sat next to Moody. Who he noticed was sitting at a perfect angle to Diana and the redhead.

"Hey Bud?" he said to his friend. "Who's the redhead with Diana Barry?" he asked him.

"Oh, that's Anne Shirley, she transferred in at the beginning of the semester."

"From where?" Gilbert asked him.

"I dunno." He said honestly. "She's a bit of a mystery nerd."

"Nerd?" Gilbert said looking at Moody thinking he was being rude.

"Yeah she's into all this literature stuff and science, she's super smart and she's into all the sci fi stuff. She's in advanced chem next with us"

Gilbert swallowed. That kinda sounded like his ideal girl if he was going to be honest. Yet he couldn't be. He was a closet geek you see, never shared that part of him with anyone else. He saw what jocks did to the nerds and geeks, he never did it himself, he was powerful enough to stop the jocks before they did anything to the nerds but all the same, he didn't want to stand against his whole football team. Especially since he's captain. "What's she majoring in?"

"Duel, actually, English and politics."

"Then why is she in advanced chem?" he asked as they entered the classroom.

"Because she's just that smart." Moody told him.

The register was taken and announcements made, they quickly filed back out into the corridor and into their classrooms. Charlie sitting with Moody, Diana was sitting with Anne there was a free desk which he promptly decided to take, right behind Anne.

Gilbert's eyes drew to her as he walked past her. 'were those eyes even real?' he thought to himself as he sat directly behind her. She turned and looked at him again as if she was trying to figure him out, so he gave her the same smile as before and winked again. She quickly turned around on her stool and whispered something to Diana.

"Firstly," the teacher greeted "the test results from last Thursday's test." The teacher started walking round handing back papers and he notice Anne's came back in hand and a big smile come across her face. He couldn't help but lean forward and check out the mark himself.

His bottom lip protruded impressed. 95%. 'Holy cow!' he thought to himself. 'she is smart!'

"There's some promising result." The teacher said. "And some not so promising." He looked to Gilbert "Hello Gilbert!" He said with a fake smile. "We've missed you."

Gilbert grinned. "Thank you Mr Phillips. Its good to be back." He said honestly.

"And some who have yet to prove themselves." He finished with a smile.

His arm went up to his hand, his elbow resting on the desk in front of him, his chin resting on the ball of his clenched hand. 'Surely, there was a way to get this girls attention?' he thought to himself. He went to his note pad and ripped tiny pieces of paper off it crunched them up and flicked them in Anne and Diana's direction.

Diana looked alright, her wide eyes in shock that Gilbert Blythe could be trying to get their attention, he looked at Diana and pointed at Anne.

"I think he wants your attention Anne." He heard her whisper.

"Some of us are trying to listen!" Anne almost hissed back ignoring the urge to look behind her. Diana looked back to Gilbert and shrugged.

This however, didn't deter his determination. With this full size paper balls were being thrown at her hitting the back of her head every so often as the teacher spoke. Diana looked on in shock. Gilbert Blythe was trying to get her attention! Gilbert Blythe!

"Anne…" Diana whispered.

"Not now Diana," she whispered back. "He'll get bored eventually."

Gilbert chuckled at this, clearly she had no idea just how much will power he had.

So the lesson when on, and as it did soon the slate boards were out (to protect the wooden desks) and the Bunsen burners were going full force as they came to conclusions over the experiments. Gilbert of course working hard to complete the work but also when time given was trying to grab this girls attention. Nothing of which worked.

No paper balls

Or paper Airplanes.

He was finally fresh out of ideas by the end of the class so he tried the very old fashioned "psst Anne." He whispered.

"Anne…" Diana tried again.

"Ignoring him again." She whispered back to Diana.

"Hey, Anne!" he tried again a little louder. But nothing was working. With this he got so frustrated he picked up one braid of her hair and tugged at it. "Hey Carrots!" he exclaimed.

Little did he know this would break her temper, she had forgotten to put away the slate slab which she had been doing her experiments on which was still laying in front of her on the table. She jumped out her stool and turned and looked at him, her face red as her hair she practically shouted, "How dare you!" she picked up the slate slab and whacked it over his head, it clear broke clean into two pieces.

Gasps abounded the classroom along with a deadly silence before Mr Phillips walked behind her "Anne Shirley!" He said in his stern voice, "I've never seen such a display of bad temper." He told her.

Gilbert's face still red, head still pounding now had a guilty feeling enter his gut "It was my fault sir I was teasing her."

Seemingly Mr Phillips ignored it. "It will not be tolerated. The principal's office NOW!" he yelled.

Anne's face by now was as red as her hair she picked up her bag and things and walked out the door.

Gilbert was stunned into silence, he couldn't believe what happened just did. He just wanted to say hello.

"Why did you have to tease her over her hair?" Charlie whispered from behind Gilbert. "She's really sensitive about it!" He hissed.

"I didn't know that!" Gilbert exclaimed back. "You might have warned me."

"Oh come on Gil, use some sense!" Charlie hissed again. "The girl has red hair what do you think people tease her over?"

"Why would anyone seriously bully her over her hair?" Gilbert gasped.

"Come on Gil, its an easy target."

"But I wasn't bullying her, I was just teasing a little to get her attention!" Gilbert swallowed again as his friends turned from him.

He burned as he waited for the period to end then hotfooted it to the Principal's office.


	2. AOGG Chapter 2

My two faithful girls last week commented two stories at once was far too little for me! As My husband is teaching my almost ten month old son to say "Dude!" (he does a good impression of it too '/d/ /ō/) it is hard! And as you all know I'm not always updating every single story I have every single week but I do like to swap and change.

I got so confused a couple of times this week with all the favourites and follows on not just this story but the other I woke up one morning with so many notifications I wondered what had happened in my inbox! Thank you so much, love you all!

Seriously its a blast!

Call out to my girls KimBlythe and CatieGirl love you both x

love Carrots x

* * *

"Mr Blythe you can't go in there!" The secretary told him. He barely looked at the women before he was knocking continuously at the door. "Mr Blythe!" she told him again.

"Let me in!" he called. "Miss Stacy please!" he called.

"Mr Blythe!" The secretary yelled before the door opened and a very calm Miss Stacy stood looking at Gilbert.

"It's okay Beverly," She said to her secretary. "I believe Mr Blythe has the right to be here. Come in won't you Gilbert." She said standing aside for the boy to come through the door, which he did.

Upon entering the room, he immediately sat in the chair next to Anne, leaning towards her.

"Anne, I'm sorry." He started but received no response from her but an upturned noise. "Anne, come on, I didn't mean to upset you." He continued as Miss Stacy sat in her chair "Miss Stacy it was my fault." He confessed. "I was teasing Anne all period, I deserved the slate to my head." He told her.

Miss Stacy smiled. "Yes, I understand that is the case from Miss Shirley."

"Anne come on." He said quietly looking desperately for a reaction. "I'm sorry, Don't be mad at me for keeps."

When there was no response from Anne Miss Stacy continued. "I can't be seen not to discipline this sort of behaviour from either one of you, though it pains me to do it, you are both outstanding students, Gilbert you've been an outstanding pupil, I expected more of you then this." She told him.

"I'm sorry Miss Stacy." He said gently. "I never wanted to disappoint you." He said sincerely.

Miss Stacy smiled gently before she turned to Anne. "And Anne, in the circumstances, I know it would have been difficult but you should have controlled your temper just a little bit longer. I doubt My Blythe would want your attention that much."

"I wouldn't bet on it." Gilbert said quietly looking at Anne for a reaction but received none, but the look of amusement on Miss Stacy's face it was obvious he had charmed her. "Anne I'm sorry, what else can I do?" he asked her.

Miss Stacy again waited for a response from Anne before she continued. "Anne, I've heard Mr Blythe apologise three times for what happened and you haven't yet responded to him. What do you have to say to him?" To which she received no response. "Very well then, detention the both of you." Miss Stacy said. "I want you both to come here every lunch time after you have eaten. Do you both understand?"

They both nodded slowly before Gilbert spoke. "For how long?" he asked.

"As long as it takes for Anne here to forgive you Gilbert." Miss Stacy said.

Gilbert sighed. He had the feeling he had just signed away the rest of his high school career.

* * *

Anne and Gilbert left the principal's office, Anne still infuriated. She walked out to the corridor to find Diana waiting for her.

"Anne," Gilbert started again, "would it not be easier to just forgive me now? Then we can avoid detention all together, you know I was only teasing, please forgive me?" he tried again.

Diana's eyes were wide as she looked at Gilbert, but even more surprising was the reaction of Anne who linked arms with Diana, held her nose high, muttered not a word to Gilbert and started marching them down the corridor, leaving behind a very confused Gilbert at least five strides behind them.

"Anne, you're like a bull in a china shop!" Diana exclaimed.

"You don't have any idea what its like being called carrots for your entire life!" Anne exclaimed to her friend.

"Gilbert used to call me crow head all the time!" Diana exclaimed.

"There's a world of difference between being called crow-head and being called carrots. More to the point my red hair is a curse. The iron has entered my soul, Diana. Gilbert Blythe had no right to call me carrots and I won't ever forgive him." Diana and Anne looked behind them to see Josie had come to gush over Gilbert, fluttering her eyelashes at him, and although they were quite some distance away by now, Diana was sure by the look on his face that he had heard ever single word. "And anyway I don't see the point in being civil to someone who chooses to associate with the likes of Josie Pye." Anne sighed. "How was your advanced chem paper?" She asked Diana.

"Oh it's a 'D'." Diana said deflated. "You know this weeks is the last week for the drop period."

"Drop?!" Anne exclaimed "you're going to drop advanced chem?" she asked.

"I'm not like you Anne, I'm not smart enough for the class it was a stupid idea in the first place." Diana sighed. "I think I might take music instead." She said with a hopeful look to Anne for her approval.

"Well, if you feel it suits you better Diana, and you are naturally inclined that way, it should help push up your grade point average." Anne said logically.

* * *

Anne's day didn't get much better, it turned out Gilbert was in all her classes, but she was careful to sit as far away as possible from him in every lesson. She could sometimes see out of the corner of her eyes his eyes watching her but she brushed off the urge to look at him back. She was quite determined, she wouldn't give in to Gilbert Blythe, not one little bit. So when lunch time came they seemed to naturally finish lunch at about the same time, Gilbert was a tiny but ahead of her in the corridor to Miss Stacy's office. Gilbert opened the door to the office but instead of going through he held it open to her. Anne stood stunned for a moment before she walked past him, her head held high still refusing any eye contact with him. He followed Anne in then through to Miss Stacy's office. They sat together at the double desk which was located at one side of the office and looked to Miss Stacy for advice on what to do next.

"I want you to get to know each other." Miss Stacy advised. "I expect at least one of you to be talking at all times." She told them, she then went to her desk and started on some of her work.

Anne was fuming! What exactly was the point in this exercise? She hated this boy! Loathed! Detested. So busy was she on finding synonyms for disliking she hardly noticed the silence.

"Soooo," Gilbert started, "I guess I'll go first." He continued. "Well, I'm Gilbert Blythe, I just turned seventeen two weeks ago. Um, my pap is a farmer, usually…" he trailed sudden shy of himself. "Um, I'm an only child, which explains why I'm not too good at socialisation with my peers…" he said trying to seek her forgiveness again. "Let's see I'm a Libra, make of that what you _may_." He paused and looked at her "which is kind of ironic since its in October." He said with a failed attempt at a joke because he saw no change in her demeanour. He sighed. "I like people who are honest and true to themselves, I don't like fake people, but I too dependent on everyone liking to me to offend anyone so I tend to try and get along with people regardless. I'm also a bit self-deprecating at times but I'm sure it's in all the wrong ways since I'm told on nearly a daily basis from my mother that my confidence board line cockiness at times." He looked pitifully towards Miss Stacy when he received no responses from Anne. He sighed again. "Let's see…" he sighed. "Oh I love ice hockey but play football, when I was six I tried to join an ice hockey team, but on my try-out I stood up in the ice skates and tripped over one of the laces fell head first over the rim of the ice ring and passed out… needless to say I didn't make the team and was too embarrassed to try again." He said trying his best. He continued in the same vain for the next twenty minutes before the bell rang for afternoon registration.

"Off you go." Miss Stacy said. "See you tomorrow."

Again Gilbert was first to the door but he held it open for Anne, who begrudging went through first without so much as a 'thank you'. Gilbert couldn't help his lips upturning into a small smile. It was Roosevelt which said 'Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty.' He had always believed the saying but it never rang true until now. He was going to win over Anne Shirley's trust and friendship this year if it was the last thing he did.


	3. AOGG Chapter 3

**Hello kindred spirits!**

 **Ah you guys! You have no idea what a thrill it is to have you guys following liking and commenting on this! It was fun to write! I'm wowed by you all!**

 **OriginalMcFishie- I've said somewhere or maybe to someone ignoring or not speaking to someone in high school even if you don't like them is difficult! This chapter is the start of them talking but no real forgiveness is going on with Anne, and it won't for a long time. Even when he's incredibly sweet and down right hot, this Anne like the original holds onto the grudge as long as she can, but with them being seventeen already...**

 **kayleerenea- Thank you for your reviews in both chapters I do notice!**

 **ploiuiu- again thank you so much for the review!**

 **and Ineedaname personally out of irony I's make that my username! (Thanks for the reviews!)**

 **As always my homegirls CatieGirl and KimBlythe always my eternal thanks!**

 **You will notice I'm making these chapters longer then my other stories, more or less its because they needed to be and I never started this one with the intent of it being... 50 60 chapters long... however I must admit I do have some future points and plots inside my head... A 2017 AOA/AOTI will probably be written!**

* * *

"A good education is a well-rounded education Diana." Anne said with a fierce resolve. "Now we have our physical education sorted we're running track, we have our mental education to sort out, you do music I need my logic and my debate skills are by far my strength."

"But Gilbert is the Captain of the debate team, won't that be awkward, being that you won't talk to him?" She questioned.

"I won't need to talk to him Diana, debate yes, talk no."

"What's the difference?" she asked.

"One is an opinion, even if its not your own, the other is who you are, and Gilbert Blythe isn't going to get to me like that." She said.

Diana shrugged. "I don't get it." She sighed.

"well regardless I'm not going to let Gilbert Blythe stop me from getting a well rounded education, if he wants to avoid me he will have to quit the debate team."

"I don't think avoiding you is on Gilbert's mind."

"Whats that suppose to mean?"

"Just what it sounds like, Charlie said Gilbert said that brains were better than a pretty face right in front of Josie…"

"Then Josie will be upset." Anne said with a smug smile.

"…and that you were the smartest girl in school." Diana ended.

"How would he know?!" Anne exclaimed.

"Oh come on! no one else can keep up with you." Diana told her straight. "You can't pretend it doesn't annoy you that someone like Gil could actually be smarter then you…"

"…take that back!"

"I will not." Diana said determinedly. "Anyway back to my point, he thinks being smart is better then being pretty."

"he should get to know you better you are both." Anne said with a grin to her friend.

"I'm not. " Diana sighed.

"don't do that Diana... " Anne started

"Well not the same kind of smart as you and Gil..."

"Do not put me in the same sentence as that boy!" Anne exclaimed as Diana went quiet.

Well then…" Diana sad defeated "good luck." Diana said as Anne entered the debating teams classroom they met in.

Gilbert looked amazed as she entered the classroom and sat quietly down at a table. His Vice President went to greet her.

"Oh hey Anne." Charlie grinned. "I didn't know you were interested in debate."

"I find the element of surprise is the best tactic in debate, I thought once I was settled into school that I might like to join up."

"Well don't let our captain scare you away, I know you and he started on the wrong foot." He said with a grin to Gilbert.

Gilbert walked over having heard enough of Charlie's greeting. "Hey Anne." He interrupted them, "I glad you could make it, we're debating 'the schools internet controls'." he said to her.

Anne simply nodded taking a sheet of paper from him. "Yey or nay?" he asked her.

"Yey or nay?" she asked him with raised eyebrow.

"Oh, erm, it's our way of informalizing the club, it's still your pro con situation, just…" he trailed not able to defend it, "It was Charlie's idea, it was either this or adding a third view of neural to the mix, so decided to let this one go."

"I see." She said a smile playing on her lips. "Can't even keep order in our own debate team." She said her nose going up. "That's some strong leadership skills there Gilbert."

Gilbert sighed. He knew she was right, he gave into peer pressure far too easily. "Just, which side do you want to debate?" He asked her.

"which one are you debating?" she asked him.

"Well, I always think you should play with your strengths." He admitted. "and go with the one you agree with. So I'm on the pro internet controls."

A grin came to her face. "and I always think you should see things from another person's point of view, you already know and value your own opinion, now see it from another person's point of view. I'll be on the nay team, thank you." She said with her nose upturned.

Gilbert took a deep breath and tried to hide his own smile. "As you wish Miss Shirley."

* * *

"Oh can I?!" Anne exclaimed hugging Marilla "Oh thank you, thank you!" she said gratefully. Matthew watched quietly as the events unfolded "Oh it'll be so eloquent. I dreamed last night of a eloquent tea party, with bunting and sugar cubes!" Anne said giggily.

"You'll need to serve Matthew his tea too." Marilla said, fairly sure Anne couldn't hear her.

being able to serve tea, oh high tea! Oh on the china set!"

"Anne! Not the china set!" Marilla called. "Plain every day will do for Diana Barry."

"Oh are you sure?! I will be careful with them." Anne assured Marilla.

"I'm sure you would be but the plain set will do just fine." Marilla emphasised again.

"Oh you'll have to show me how to make plum puffs and Victoria sponge cake!"

"You can have the raspberry cordial as well, its in the front of the pantry." Marilla tried again to talk to her.

"Oh can I call Diana?" She said running out the room towards the phone. Marilla rolled her eyes.

"Its nice isn't it?" Matthew said to his sister "that a sixteen-year-old girl can get excited about inviting a friend over for tea." He said with a nod. "It makes you real grateful for the freedoms we had."

* * *

Anne sat wordlessly, her arms crossed in front of her. Coming to detention every day was tiresome she would much rather come here and listen to Gilbert Blythe harp on rather than forgive him. The former was much easier than the latter.

Miss Stacy it seemed had no objection to Anne reading while Gilbert talked. He never seemed to stop to draw breath. Apparently, it seemed they shared a talent. He never actually said anything about himself, not since that first day at least and she wasn't actually sure what his political opinions were, as soon as he talked himself into a view he was able to talk his way back out of them balancing his own argument.

But today, he provoked her. Today he had a way of making sure Anne spoke back to him.

"I heard you got Diana Barry drunk." He stated. "And that's why Diana's locker has been moved and she's had to shuffle around all her classes so she isn't in any of yours." He paused for a second waiting for a reaction, when none came he whistled from high to low "Gee Anne, that's an awfully risky way of keeping Di your friend. Getting people drunk is generally something you do in middle school." He said with a smirk. "…and when camping, or even after a football game, with really bad cidar… really really bad… seriously where did he get it from?" he trailed off in his own thought for a second. "Its easier then you think with that stuff, it maybe cheap but give it to a 13 year old boy …"

"I did _not_ get Diana drunk!" She exclaimed going red, then turned her nose up at him.

"That's not what I heard." He said shrugging his shoulders. "And without the truth being out there, everyone has to assume the rumours are true. That you did it deliberately and Mrs Barry was furious."

"Why would I want to get Diana drunk?" She asked him in temper.

"…well if you aren't going to tell anyone what happened…" he started.

"I don't want to say what happened!" she objected.

"Then we have no choice but to listen to Mrs Barry's version."

"But it hurts to talk about it! I don't want to relive it over and over again!" she told him the tears gathering in her eyes. "Do you know what its like? To have negative things said about you _over_ and _over_ again and having to relive it over and over again? To be told you a trouble and not worth _anything_?!" She yelled at him.

Gilbert looked at her wide eyed. "No." He admitted in a whisper knowing he had hit a nerve, but not the one he was intending on hitting. "No, I don't."

"Well that's what I've had since my parents died and left me behind!" She said still shouting. "So, _don't_ tell me I have to go through it all again for your convenience and for _your_ amusement, so _you_ can _tease_ and torture me over it."

Gilbert swallowed and looked briefly to Miss Stacy. Her eyes had a look in them which spoke she knew. "I wouldn't do that Anne." He said quietly backing down. "I'm sorry. I never meant to upset you over it."

Silence prevailed for a minute before Anne looked up at Gilbert. "You can't stop talking." She said in a huff. "That's against the rules."

He was looking down at the desk when he stated "The rule is one of us has to be talking." he observed.

There was silence again before Anne started quietly. "Marilla said I could have Di over for a sleepover, pizza, chips, the tv even her raspberry cordial." She said the tears running down her face. "Thing is I went into the pantry and Marilla said the raspberry cordial was at the front. Well I've never had it so how should I know that Marilla left the Red Current Wine there accidentally?" She said quietly. Gilbert looked at her in disbelief, not because of the situation she was describing but the fact she was actually talking to him about it. "Diana drank… rather a lot of it, believing it was raspberry cordial and she started to feel sick about an hour later, before we had even ordered the pizza. We had the whole night planned, pizza and the back to the future films, she'd never seen them before."

"Really?" he asked. "Great Scott that's insane!" he said with a half-smile, knowing this girl was his perfect companion now,geeky shirts and movies and old music, would be perfection.

"I know that was _heavy_ , right?" she replied. "We didn't even make it through the first film."

There was another silence before Gilbert spoke. "Well that doesn't sound like your fault Anne."

Then the school bell rang. "I don't care what you think." She muttered as she shuffled out the room.

Gilbert sat silently at the desk for a moment.

"Is there a problem Gilbert?" Miss Stacy asked him.

"Is it true? What she said about before she came here?" He asked Miss Stacy.

Miss Stacy sighed. "With the exception of when she's in the room with you she does seem like a fairly sunny character doesn't she? Don't let that fool you Gilbert. She's had a very troubled past."

Gilbert swallowed. "She doesn't deserve that." He said quietly.

Miss Stacy smiled. "No she doesn't."

Gilbert gave eye contact to his teacher. "How troubled?" he asked.

"I can't tell you that Gilbert, I'm sorry." She whispered. "You care about her, don't you?" She asked to which she received no reply. "She will forgive you one day, she just needs some time to realise you aren't going to hurt her."

Gilbert stood from the desk and moved towards the door before he said quietly "Thank you Miss Stacy."

* * *

It was a few days later in Miss Stacy's office when Anne came in she said to Gilbert "You didn't tell everyone?" She asked slamming her books down on the table in front of Gilbert.

"Ummm…" he said

"why didn't you tell people?" She demanded.

"I didn't want it to seem like I was teasing or taunting you over it Anne." He said. "I want you to know you can trust me, with _anything_ and I will never, ever betray that trust."

Anne looked at him and swallowed. "Oh." She said before she sat down and continued not to say anything.

"Can I ask you something?" he said to her.

"Um okay." She replied.

"How old were you when your parents died?" he asked.

"Oh." She blushed. "Three." She whispered.

He looked at her with wide eyes again. "D… do you remember anything about them?" he asked quietly.

"Sometimes I think I do." She replied. "But I don't know if I imagined it or not."

He swallowed and nodded his head. "I'm sorry for that Anne. Really I am."

"I sometimes…" she trailed before she stopped suddenly.

"Go on." Gilbert said quietly.

"Its nothing." She swallowed.

"Its something." He told her. "I can tell."

"I can sometimes hear my mother, she tells me she loves me." Anne told her. "but, I…"

"Its her." He said quietly.

"You can't know that."

"I do know it, its your mother."

There was a pause before she said "They told me it's not her."

Gilbert looked at her. "Who?" he asked.

"The child psychologist, the people at the home. They said it was a figment of my imagination." She said.

"Its her." He insisted.

"I wish it was." She muttered as she went quiet again.

He took a sigh knowing he wasn't going to win this one. So swallowed then kept the rule in place "So did I tell you about choosing between swimming and my football?" he asked her.

She looked at him and shook her head.

"Oh." He said with a smile "You're going to love this one."


	4. AOGG Chapter 4

**I don't know if the notification for last weeks updates reached everyone FF was broken). Please have a quick look at the last chapter name sure you read it! love Carrots x**

* * *

Three weeks later ,the winter setting in every road east of the school had been blocked to the school with snow but it still remained open.

Everyone had known about the telling off Mr Phillips had received at the end of the school day by Mr Sadler, the father of one of his tutor class, the girl had been failing in every subject and had blamed Mr Phillips (despite the whole of Avonlea knowing she was the dimmest star in the sky) humiliating him before the entire student body (who naturally had all sat and watched), leaving a very angry teacher and the class knew this would be the case as all pupils who lived east of the high school came in late that morning.

Anne happened to be the last of the students to enter, the majority of which were boys she was the one to feel the wrath of his revenge.

"Miss Shirley!" he called to her before she even sat down. Anne took a sigh and stood before the class. "Since you seem so fond of the boys company we shall indulge it. Sit there next to Gilbert."

Anne looked at the seat next to Gilbert then at her teacher again. Before she took the seat, there was a stunned silence between the two for a few moments. Anne had said nothing substantial to him since her last muttered words of 'I wish it was'.

She sat beside him her head went into her arms resting on the desk.

He swallowed and went pink in the cheek. "Anne." He whispered after a few seconds had passed and everyone else had started collecting the equipment for the experiment. "We're going to need the desk for the experiment." He looked to her as she came up "and if we don't hurry into the supplies cupboard we're going to end up with the defective bunsion burner." He took a sigh then said "I'll get them." He told her. As he was setting up the experiment and the class was naturally whispering along themselves Gilbert whispered to her "I can't believe his nerve." He whispered to her. "I'm sorry you had to work with me." He told her.

She sighed then said "don't worry about it." She said to him. "Though can you promise me something?"

"Anything of course." He whispered.

"Let's get an A+ on this assignment, show him what happens when he puts the two smartest people in this room together?" she asked him.

He looked at her amazed. She thought he was smart! Like she was smart kind of smart. She'd noticed him! It wasn't for his usual charm or good looks, which were just what everyone else wanted him for. She liked him, for his brains! "Sounds good." He said with a smile to her.

* * *

The project would take them right up to the winter break and they were partnered. Gilbert could tell Anne was only tolerating him for the sake of the project, but even still, there was something about the way she was valuing him, which made him feel needed, even wanted by her. They agreed to meet in Green Gables for a study session that night for the sake of the project, when Charlie cut between them.

"Say Anne, has anyone asked you to the Winter formal yet?" he asked her.

"Oh, um… no." Anne admitted blushing slightly.

"If you like…" Charlie said enthused by her answer "we could go together?" he questioned.

"Um…" Anne said confused, she didn't really think she was his type, "Sure." She agreed.

"Good call!" Charlie exclaimed. "You know it'll speak volumes for your social standing when you're seen with a Sloane." He said with his false sense of swagger coming back.

Gilbert rolled his eyes at Charlie, who had failed to notice Anne's annoyance. "Tell it to your blog Charlie." He said taking his friend by the arm and leading him away "See you in detention Anne." Gilbert said.

* * *

Gilbert had no way of knowing the way to Green Gables was blocked. The snow had continued into the afternoon Anne had barely got the Land Rover up to Green Gables driveway. Gilbert's Mini had no chance against the snow. He was only half way up the hill when he decided to pull into the side of the road, Just after the entrance to Orchards Slope, take his books and bag and head on foot up the hill.

He didn't have Anne's number and he knew she was expecting him, he didn't want to disappoint her, especially over this project. He walked up the hill.

'I really wore the wrong shoes for this' he thought to himself as he felt the snow slipping down the back of his sneakers. He made it to Green Gables porch 15 minutes later and knocked on the door.

The door was opened by Marilla her eyes wide in what Gilbert assumed was shock. "Good afternoon Miss Cuthbert, my name is Gilbert Blythe. I'm uh frie… well a class mate of Anne's at school. I don't know if you are expecting me I'm sorry but we are working on a science project together…"

"Yes." Marilla interrupted, "Anne told me, we assumed with the snow continuing you wouldn't come." She sighed "everyone knows not to try that hill once the snow sets in."

"Yes, I just learnt that the hard way, I had to abandon my car half way down." He admitted. "And I didn't have Anne's number…"

"Come in." She told him standing aside. He walked past her to see Anne walking through the corridor.

"Gilbert!" She said surprised. "You came?" she said as Marilla shut the door behind him.

"Yeah, I knew you were expecting me." He said.

"Oh." She sounded. "I thought everyone knew not to try this hill in the snow."

"Everyone but me apparently." He said with a smile to Marilla as she went into the kitchen.

"I suppose you would have no need to know it really." Anne admitted.

"Makes all the difference." He admitted. "I didn't have your number to check either."

"Oh." Anne said with a blush. "I don't have a cell."

"You…" Gilbert looked confused at her for a moment. "You don't?" he asked.

"Marilla doesn't see the use of them, she thinks my laptop is instant enough contact." Anne said carefully and well-rehearsed as Matthew appeared at the living room door watching them.

"Oh." He said nodding thoughtfully. "Well, they are overused and overhyped anyway."

"That's easy for you to say you have one." She counted.

He laughed at that. "You are refreshing Anne Shirley." He said outloud with a smile to her. "Yes, I suppose, it is very easy for me to say." He said pulling out his own phone and throwing it in the air slightly catching it with the same hand.

She looked at the phone. "Is that an myphone4?" she asked him.

"Um, yeah." He admitted sliding it back in his pocket. She looked at him confused for a moment. "You seem confused?" he asked her.

"Just I thought you'd have all the latest stuff." She admitted.

He nodded. "My parents didn't buy me my phone." He said. "not that they should have, with the last few years and everything. I have a part time job, pays for my phone and my car."

She looked at him rather seriously. "They made you get a job for it?" she asked him.

"No." he said his feet drawing circles on the floor in front of him. "They offered to get me one, I said no, I prefer to work for what I get." He continued. "So I got a part time job, one luckily which was on hold for me for when I got back from…" he trailed not wanting to talk about being away or his father being ill.

"I know your dad was ill." She admitted. "Diana gushed over it before you even came back." Anne continued. "It was a little annoying actually." She said and was surprised with the chuckle he gave. "What was your dad sick with, she never said?" Gilbert took a deep breath. He thought everyone knew so he didn't need to talk about it. "Sorry." She said upon seeing his face. "You don't have to say." She took a breath then said "You must be freezing Gil come into the living room." She told him. "You can sit by the fire and get warm. Do you want a coffee?" she asked him.

"Would it be too much trouble for some tea?" he asked her.

"Tea?" she asked. "You prefer tea?"

"I know an old man's beverage…" he trailed.

"No, Just, I prefer tea." She said in amazement. "Everyone else is hooked on coffee." She said with an incredulous look to him.

"There's too much bite to it." He said.

"Yeah and it leaves that taste in your mouth…" she started.

"Like it's the cocoa bean just left there." He smiled.

"Exactly." She agreed. The two of them smiled for a moment before it faded and Anne directed them towards the living room, where she took his coat "I'll put it in the tumble dryer, give me your sneakers and socks too, they won't dry if we won't." She admitted. He obediently took them off she went out the room. When she returned she didn't know whether or not she could smile at him, so she avoided eye contact and handed him a hot water bottle, " so your feet don't get cold." She paused a moment "now I know you asked for regular tea, but see what you make of this." She said as she put it in front of him. He looked inside the cup first then with a smile said "Green Tea!"

"Not just any green tea." She said looking him in the eye. "try it."

He took the sugar and put two in. Smiled then looked at Anne as he took a sip. "That's good." He admitted. "What is it?" he asked her.

"Jasmine Green Tea." She said with a half satisfied grin.

"Jasmine, yes!" he exclaimed. "I should have known that." He said. "That's good." He said biting his bottom lip looking at Anne as she sipped hers. "Is this what you're having?" he asked her.

She nodded. "When I was about twelve I was in this foster home for a short time only a month I think, but while I was there, there was this Chinese man, very quiet very alone but he saw me running back and forth one day and he offered me some Jasmine Green Tea." She sighed and looked at the tea cup "it tastes of freedom." She said.

Gilbert looked at her and studied her face, "freedom from what?" he asked.

She blushed a little. "The family, I suppose didn't have much, they were only wanting what was best for their family." She whispered. "Its not that they didn't take care of me exactly just, I suppose eventually not even the foster care money was enough to help." She whispered.

"They didn't want to foster for the love but for the money?" he asked. "They didn't hurt you did they Anne?" he asked her seriously seeing the look on her face.

"No not them." she said, Gilbert not missing the beat of 'not them', so that had meant someone else had. "I just did a lot you know, back and forth to the store, cooked cleaned ironed that sort of thing, I don't mind doing my share…" she trailed again.

He couldn't help but read her, she was so very open like this. "They had children of their own?" he asked her to which she nodded, "and they never contributed?" he continued.

She looked to him and shrugged. "You're good at this game." She told him wiping the tear away. "It doesn't matter." She said putting down her tea and pulling out her books putting them in front of her.

He sensed she was backing away emotionally when all he wanted to do was pull her tight to him and tell her he would protect her. "Its not fair." He said to her.

"Life's not fair." She replied her nose upturning "The sooner we realise it the better." She stated. He studied her a little before she said "its not our circumstances which defines who we are Gil, its how we act which will." She said in a very final way. He looked to her and nodded before she said.

Gilbert took a breath and said "it was cancer, my Dad he had, has cancer. I never know the right tense for it." He said quietly.

Anne looked at him with wide eyes. "Oh Gil!" she exclaimed. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know." She said quietly.

"We were out in Alberta; the hospital out there has a specialised unit for really bad cases." He continued. "we only came back when he got the all clear. But he was told to take it easy, which is hard to do when running a farm, he works the fields himself, but, while everyone else were worrying about football games and cheerleading torments, grades and social spats…." He paused for a second before he continued "You know it does something to you as well, that you don't see in the others, not that its wrong exactly because they are living out a normal and wonderful teenage existence."

"But it doesn't give them your perspective on things, it's lonely isn't it?" she asked him.

"Yeah it is. I would suppose being fostered in and out of families would do a similar thing?" he posed the question though didn't really expect an answer. "It makes you grow and fast, you see the most important things in life aren't pep rallies or whose dating who or even if you have a girlfriend or not, my dad mattered, my ma mattered and I really want to make a difference because of it. You know?" he asked her.

"I know." She smiled. There was a comfortable silence between the two for a minute before she said "You remember how I said I thought I remembered my ma telling me she loved me?"

"How you remembered it," he said with a smiled. "yes."

She took a sigh and a chuckle before she continued "You know why I think…"

"you know." He corrected again.  
"fine, you know why I know its real?" she asked him.

He shrugged and shook his head.

"She used to sing to me too." Anne said quietly. "She sang a song called 'I knew I loved you' to me. And when I was first in the foster home I'd sing myself to sleep with it." She sighed. "she'd hold me close and tell me how much she loved me." A tear escaped Anne eye and she quickly brushed it away " and she told me I was worth the world." She took a deep breath "it wasn't until I learned how to use the internet and was told by the teacher 'to look up something from your past' he didn't say how recent. I typed the words of the song into the search engine, and it came up top spot, the song and I could hear her sing to me again."

They were quiet for a moment before Gilbert spoke "Queen!" he exclaimed before Anne looked at him confused "Bohemian Rhapsody" he continued "My dad used to sing it to me, it was the only thing which would settle me." He said with a blush.

"Really?" Anne asked her eyes still wet from crying as she giggled.

He chuckled "right until I was about five." He admitted. "Or 'Too Many Tears'" he chuckled.

"Whitesnake?" Anne asked.

To which he nodded. "Not the typical nursery rhymes."

"No that's cool." She said with the broadest smile on her he had ever seen.

"Yeah it is." He agreed.

They were silent again before she spoke "So was it bad? Your dads cancer?" she asked him.

"Yeah." He admitted, he looked up at her into her eyes for a moment. He couldn't quite believe just how easily they were talking, just how much he wanted to open up to her! He'd never been like this before, he held his cards close to his chest since the whole thing started. "I was thirteen when he was first diagnosed." He said quietly.

"Four years?" She asked her eyes going wide.

"They'd get to the point of almost calling clear and they'd find it again." Gilbert swallowed. It wasn't until last year it got really bad. They said if it didn't clear this time it wouldn't." he sighed. "I finished my end of term exams and Miss Stacy let me finish early I left mid May."  
"Six months?" Anne looked at him wide eyed. "You were away six months."

"I hated home-schooling." He said with a smile. "Since I was the teacher and student combined. Miss Stacy really was very good about it all sending up the work for me."

She looked at him and swallowed. "That's not fair." She whispered.

"No its not." He admitted. "But in some ways ,the last four years made me grow up faster, in other ways I've been left socially behind." He said with a shrug. "But as you said life isn't fair. I guess, I've learnt it too, just in a different way."

She inhaled her tea for a moment before she took another sip "its my favourite." She said referring to the tea. They went quiet for a moment before Anne dared speak again. "On to Chem." She said to him.

By the time they were finished they both knew Gilbert couldn't leave. The snow was deep and wild coming down very fast.

"You need to call your father and mother, let them know you will sleep in our spare room, you can't go all the way back to Blythe Farm in this, Its too far to walk in it especially in those sneakers you wore." Marilla said with an eye roll.

"If you're sure Miss Cuthbert, thank you." He said politely.

"You can use the phone if you like?" she told him.

"No, that's okay, thank you Miss Cuthbert, that's why I have my cell phone." He admitted. To which Marilla simply rolled her eyes and walked out the room.

It was then Diana came bursting into Green Gables.

"Diana?!" Anne asked shocked.

"Mini May is sick I don't know what to do, mama and papa has gone out and have left me in charge, I tried to call the doctor but the lines are dead and my cell phone isn't working I don't know what else to do!" she said panicked. She then looked to Gilbert in shock said "What are you doing here?!" she asked him.

"We were doing our chemistry homework Diana, you know we're partners in there now." Anne defended, rather too fiery for Gilbert's liking. "What's wrong with her?" Anne asked.

"She has this barking cough but when she breathes in it sounds awful, and her little voice sounds like sandpaper and she says its hard to breath. I left Angela with her because I didn't know what to do and all the road are blocked so I can't get her to an ER. This was the nearest place, until you get to Blythe farm, was that your car I passed Gilbert?" she asked him, still very confused with everything.

"It could be croup," Gilbert suggested from behind them, Anne looked to him and nodded. "if it is she'll need help as soon as you can give her it, it can be dangerous if left." He said logically.

"I agree with Gilbert." Anne admitted. "But we should go to her, and see how bad it is. Once the roads are clear we can get her to hospital. I'll come with you." She said to Diana, we'll see how bad it is." She said getting her own boots ready.

* * *

It was the early hours of the morning when Gilbert heard the door at Green Gables shut. It seemed no one else was awake. Without thinking he jumped out of bed as he heard the footsteps up the stairs and opened his door.

"Gil." Anne said her eyes wide at him, it was a moment before Gilbert realised he was standing in nothing but his boxer shorts which were snug against him.

"Sorry." He blushed realising himself his hand subconsciously covering his crotch although it was already covered by his shorts he did not want Anne to see his reaction to her. He jumped behind the door his head poked round. "I was just wondering if everything went okay with mini May?" he asked her.

Anne couldn't help but grin at him her eyebrows were playing flirt with him, despite her best efforts not to. "In hospital, you were right Gil it was croup I knew the moment I got there, I did what I could, sat her up, kept her warm, I even had my inhaler for my asthma which I gave her, it seemed to help a little."

He nodded. "Good I'm glad."

"They only just got the ambulance to Orchard Slope." She whispered. "Then Diana's mother turned up, she was too relieved Mini May was going to be okay she didn't even notice I was there until the medic said it could have been too late by the time they got there if I didn't… she could have got pneumonia."

"Well thank God you were there then Anne." He acknowledged. "You really seem to have cool head in a crisis." He said with a smile to her.

"Thanks." She said realising it was Gilbert she was talking to her face falling back to cool with him. "The roads should be clear by morning." She admitted. "You could probably go home before school if you wanted to."

"I could give you a ride to school if you like?" he offered.

"No thank you Gilbert, I don't think that would be appropriate." She replied.

"Anne…." He started.

"Good night Gilbert." She said suddenly and she entered her bedroom.

Gilbert shut the door and silently cursed himself. He lay on the bed and covered himself in the covers. He was sure they were close to being friends. He sighed and wondered if she'd ever forgive him.

* * *

"Oh come on!" Gilbert exclaimed the next day in debate the two hadn't spoken to each other since the encounter in the hallway of green gables, so Gilbert just kept things as normal. The debate team meeting was that night and the subject had been 'are all books politically motivated?' Anne was on the 'no' and Gilbert was on the 'yes'. "You cannot use Animal farm as an example of a non-political book!"

"I think I just did." Anne argued.

" It's a fact that Orwell had written it as the lead up to the revolution in Russia in 1917!"

"I'm not saying it isn't political I'm saying without the context it's just a story about a farm." Anne defended.

"'Animal farm?'" Ruby asked. "Is that the one with the pigs?" she asked.

"'I'm lost'." Josie exclaimed "what does the movie 'babe' have to do with revolutionary Russia?"

"…just for a minute think as a child, you've never heard about Russia or the politics, what is that story about? Its about pigs taking over a farm. Nothing more." Anne defended.

"Wait? Babe was a communist?" Josie asked surprised.

"I don't think it's the same pig Josie." Ruby said.

"But it isn't us putting a political opinion on the book, the political views are there." Gilbert exclaimed. "They wouldn't publish it at first, it was so obvious that it was a censored book!"

"Charlie?!" Josie whispered to him.

"Yeah." Charlie asked.

"What are they going on about?" she asked him.

"No Idea, they lost me at Orwell." Charlie sighed.

"A one which adults put on there. Read it to Mini May she will tell you it's about a farm. And isn't at least some of interpretation is in the readers perspective!" Anne exclaimed.

"Hey, wanna go for milkshakes?" Charlie asked the others.

"Oh lets get out of here they're in one of their debate modes who knows when they'll come out of it today." Josie sighed,

"Won't they want to come?" Ruby asked.

"I'll whatsapp Gil." Charlie whispered. "Come on."

Indeed it was a healthy five minutes later the pair had debated through books of both Shakespeare and Dr Seuss where Gilbert finally came up saying "Back me up Charlie…" he started before he looked up from Anne and around him, he said again as he turned to check the whole debate club were not there "Charlie?" he questioned.

"I think they all gave up the fight." Anne said finally coming down from the high of the debate.

"You mean the debate?" he asked her. She sighed and took her jacket from the back of the chair before he stood in front of her and took her hand, something which made Anne's heart skip in her chest. "I wish they could be two different things." He told her quietly.

"I don't think they can be Gil." She said taking her hand back and leaving him standing in the classroom by himself.


	5. AOGG Chapter 5

I have been updating these stories weekly bases and Fanficton has had some problems of late, just go through the last few chapters make sure you've read them.

I really enjoyed writing this chapter, I can't tell you why, but I think I like how Gilbert is worming his way into Anne's affections without her necessarily recognising it.

* * *

Gilbert swallowed as he watched Anne walk down into the danceroom with Charlie. He had to admit he was jealous of Charlie, very very jealous.

After Charlie had invited Anne to the winter formal he really had no choice in the matter but to ask Josie. Right now she was standing with him, watching as the two ascended into the room.

Josie was wearing strapless dress which was hot pink with beads across the bust. It tightly fell round the trunk of her body then poofed out to a tutu style skirt, which was only 17 inches, or so she said to Gilbert. The dress was finished off with a hot pink bow. Her hair was all plaited up and back in some style Gilbert had no idea how to describe. He didn't find it attractive, nor unattractive, he suspected had it been someone else it might have looked good.

But the vision which came down the steps, his eyes were glued to her. The dress was a knee length and puffed out a little. It was dark purple. The waist was adorned with tiny crystals which looked like flowers and leaves the top was sheer hiding her chest and collarbone from view. She had around her arms what looked like a crocheted cardigan, the same colour as the dress, the cardigan likewise in a flower motif. Anne's hair had been curled was left loose down her back only a small section was up keeping her hair from her face. But then, something Gilbert couldn't help but see.

She wasn't wearing her glasses.

And her eyes were actually that big. Those big grey eyes, (which he could now confirm definitely had specks of green in them) were not made bigger by the glasses.

His heart stomped in his chest as Josie spoke. "Well Anne, I _almost_ didn't recognise you there!" She exclaimed. "Where are your glasses?" she asked her.

"Oh, I… don't actually need to wear them." Anne admitted. "They are reading glasses, but I figure when I'm about school and me being me I'm always reading so I never take them off."

"So you wear them to look _smarter_ then you already are?" Josie asked confused.

Gilbert grinned "Some people don't need to Josie." Gilbert teased lightly.

"Well if you're taking them on and off all day it must get tiring." Charlie admitted.

"I sometimes forget that they are there." Anne said to the group.

"You shouldn't hide behind them." Gilbert said and Anne looked at him her eyes wide at his outspokenness.

"Hiding?" she questioned. "Can you ever really hide who you are behind glasses? " she asked him.

He grinned slightly "Clark Kent did." He said biting his bottom lip to hide the stupid grin that was forming on his lips.

Anne lips played a smile before she said "I'm not a superhero Mr Blythe."

"I'm just saying he hid who he was." Gilbert shrugged.

"And everyone would have accepted him for being an alien would they?" she asked him.

"Some of us might." He shrugged, "he should trust us." He said as he looked at her meaningfully.

"Its just a comic book…" Josie tried.

"Maybe Kal-El understands that a lot of the time human being can't see past their preconceptions."

"Challenge your preconceptions, or they will challenge you." Gilbert counted

Anne looked at him surprised, "That's the wrong fandom."

"It proves my point." He said with a smile he only suppressed by biting into his cheek.

"Do you challenge yours?" she asked him.

"I try." He told her straight. "But if everyone is intent on hiding differences how are we ever supposed to move past them." He said with a glint in his eye.

"They're only glasses!" Josie exclaimed. "Honestly you two!" she said a false sweet tone coming back to her voice "Always making something out of nothing." She said patting down Gilbert's arm.

Gilbert took a breath then looked up into Anne's eyes "what I mean to say you shouldn't hide behind those glasses, you're very…pulchritudinous." He told her.

Anne swallowed with a pink glow coming to her cheek.

"isn't that some kind of disease?" Josie asked him, which made Gilbert laugh for a moment.

"it means he thinks Anne looks pretty." Charlie answered.

'Not just pretty' Gilbert thought to himself. 'Breathtaking, heartbreakingly beautiful.'

"I have to agree with him." Charlie said looking at Anne in a way Gilbert wished he could.

"Well thank you Charlie." Anne said to Charlie making Gilbert wish he hadn't said it.

"I do like the colour of your dress Josie." Anne admitted. "I'll admit; I never could pull off hot pink."

"Well what redhead could." She said her nose upturned.

"Josie!" Gilbert said in a hushed whisper. Gilbert looked up the stairs then did a double take. Was that Fred with Diana?! "Fred!" he exclaimed. "You didn't say you were bringing Diana." He said with a smile to her. "As lovely as ever" he charmed Diana who wore a deep blue cap sleeve dress (where the designer had adored with sparkle with a sweetheart neckline which fell to the ground, you could only just see Diana's black shoes peaking from beneath it. Her hair like Anne's wasn't complicated but looked the same colour as chocolate as it waved just above her shoulders.

"Well I only managed to pluck up the nerve a week ago." He said to Gilbert as they greeted. Anne and Diana started talking among themselves comparing the dresses and hairstyles Josie looking particularly put out by it all. "Truth was I've wanted to ask her out since junior high but, I wasn't sure where we stood with asking girls out who were in a different group to us." He admitted swallowing. "Then I figured, Charlie asked Anne and she's almost kind of one of us and Anne is Diana's best friend."

"That's some lateral thinking there Fred." Gilbert said with a chuckle. "But you never needed to worry about asking any girl out, we'd accept her into our social group because she'd be awesome, you know that." Gilbert said looking confused at his friend.

Fred looked to Gilbert surprised. "Maybe to you." Fred admitted. "But to some of the others, there would always be outsiders. People who didn't belong."

"That's a ridiculous way of thinking." Gilbert objected to Fred.

Fred chuckled and slapped Gilbert on the back. "This is high school buddy."

He took Diana by the arm. "Would you like a drink?" Fred asked Diana.

"Sure." She said taking his arm.

"Anne?" he asked her.

"Um Sure." Anne said with a smile as Fred's arm came out.

"If that's okay with your escort?" Fred said with a smile to Charlie.

"Oh, by all means!" Charlie exclaimed rather pompously.

Anne took Fred's other arm and the three went off to find the drinks.

Charlie smiled at Gilbert "I'm going to ask Anne to go steady tonight. In the sweetheart's dance." He told Gilbert.

"Oh?" Gilbert asked. "So soon?"

Charlie smirked "I've known her since September buddy."

Gilbert took a sigh, had it really only been a month since he met Anne? "Its still rather fast."

"We live in a fast world Gilbert." Charlie said with a nose in the air. "Get your seat beat on and get in the fast lane." He whispered before he walked away from Gilbert. Gilbert shook his head and walked towards the drinks too, leaving a rather stunned and forgotten about Josie by the staircase.

* * *

"The time has come girls and guys to find that special someone, for the sweethearts dance, coming up next…" Gilbert immediately felt Josie at his arm. "To commemorate you guys and the year you were born I've picked a song from that year…." Gilbert felt Josie's arm reach round the back of his neck readying for the dance. "…A classic…"

Gilbert's eyes widened and he pulled away from Josie. He knew the song without the DJ needing to say anymore. Because he had YouTubed it the moment he had got home that night of their chemistry homework, he had listened to it time and time again imagining a loving mothers voice in the melody, so he would know it like Anne did. Charlie was about to do something really really stupid. He had to get to her to just be there for her, to let her know she wasn't alone, in her very isolated moments, she could still trust him. Gilbert walked away from Josie searching the crowd for them he vaguely heard Josie calling his name in temper and he foot striking the ground but he didn't care. He searched the room, unwilling to believe all of these people really came from his school, there wasn't normally so many of them!

He final spotted them at the other side of the room, Charlie had his arms around Anne, who was clearly uncomfortable, her shoulders were tense and she looked as though she wanted to curl up in a corner. He quickly found his way next to them and just in the nick of time.

"Say Anne I was wondering…" he had started.

"Ahem." Gilbert interrupted. "May I cut in?" he asked politely.

Charlie looked to Gilbert incredulously.

"Yes pleas…" Anne started.

"No." Charlie interrupted. "Let me handle this _sweetheart_." He breathed to Anne. Whose brows knitted together she was so uncomfortable. "You know which dance this is?" Charlie asked Gilbert.

"Yes I do." Gilbert said panicking Anne would break down and cry where she stood.

"Pick another dance to dance with her." Charlie almost demanded.

"I can't." Gilbert said to him, "its this _song_ or no _song_." Gilbert said boldly. He looked away from Charlie whose face was slowly turning red, starting at his ears.

"I suppose I should have seen it." Charlie said looking between the two.

"Its not like that Charlie." Gilbert exclaimed.

"Really?!" Charlie said sarcastically. "Anne, come here and finish this dance with me." He almost demanded from Anne.

Anne had no words, instead when Charlie looked her way his eyes wide in shock she shook her head silently.

He turned and looked at Gilbert "We'll sort this later." He hissed at him then he turned on foot and went into the crowds.

Gilbert took one glance at Anne, he quickly put his arms around her to hide the tears which was now flowing down her face. He held her close so no one could tell he was holding her up and he shushed her quietly as he heard her gasps as she cried, her nose was buried into his shirt and he could feel the layers get damp as she cried there by his heart. "Its alright." He whispered to her. "Its okay." It was quite some time later he assured her again "No one knows you're crying, they all think we're dancing its fine." He whispered. "Whenever you are ready you can let go." He continued.

"I…" she started. "I don't want them to see I've been crying." She whispered as the song came to an end.

"Okay." He told her. "Stay in my arms we'll part dance the next one then when no one is looking we can slip out the door, you can go to the rest room and freshen up."

At first it was difficult to slip out, very few people had noticed them dancing in the sweetheart's song together but more people noticed when the fast beat came on and the two were still slow dance close together, yet they eventually looked away. Gilbert took her by the hand and they slipped out of the room to the hallway which sloped round to the toilets. He watched her as she walked away making sure she slipped inside the nearest restroom before anyone saw her.

"What the hell was that all about!?" Charlie exclaimed coming out into the corridor shouting up it to Gilbert. "You ruined my changes with Anne I was about to ask her."

"I didn't ruin anything." Gilbert defended.

"I was about to ask her." Charlie said shoving Gilbert.

"You're kidding right?" he asked Charlie, Gilbert six foot three strong wide frame dwarfed Charlie at five foot nine. "You don't want to take me on Charles."

Charlie shoved at Gilbert again. Gilbert took a sigh before Charlie grabbed at his shirt and action Gilbert followed. "I will challenge you Gilbert and win, everyone knows you're just popular because we say so…" he exclaimed.

"Like I care about being popular!" Gilbert said shoving him far enough back that Charlie was against a wall. "I care about her!" he exclaimed.

"Now we're getting to it!" Charlie exclaimed. "You're hot for her! You want her so bad you can't let anyone else have her. I have news for you mate! She's not interested in the mighty Gilbert Blythe, she hates you!" Charlie exclaimed as he pushed back far enough that it was now Gilbert against the wall.

"You idiot!" Gilbert shouting pushing him back. "This isn't about me!" Gilbert pinned Charlie against the wall his feet now clear off the ground. "That song meant something to her, she told me about it and the moment I heard it I knew she would be uncomfortable!" Gilbert exclaimed. "I ruined nothing between you!" he told Charlie putting him back on the ground. "I possibly stopped you from being rejected." He pushed a little as he let go of Charlie "You can thank me later." Gilbert said walking away down the hall. Charlie heard the door open a few seconds later. Gilbert had clearly needed to cool off. It was a few seconds after that Anne emerged from the restrooms.

"Anne?" he called greeting her part way back.

"Oh, Charlie." Anne said quietly "Sorry about that." She told him.

"You don't need to apologise sweetheart and I sorted things with Gilbert."

"What?" Anne asked. "I don't understand." She said confused

"You don't need to." Charlie said to her as if to hush her, Anne looked up at him even more greatly confused. "Know this, as long as we are together, he will not come near you."

"Excuse me?!" Anne said to him standing back. "Together?!"

Charlie shook his head, "That's right so much has happened I haven't even asked you." He said.

"And I suppose you think now I will say yes?" Anne asked. "First off, I don't care if its Gilbert Blythe or the milkman!" She exclaimed, "You never under any circumstances have any right to tell me who will and won't come near me!" she continued without provocation "secondly you sorted things with Gilbert? How exactly?"

"I told him you weren't interested in him." Charlie said his confidence now wavering.

"How dare you!" she exclaimed. "Even if we were together you have no right to speak on my behalf without my consent!"

"But it's the truth, you don't like him."

"I don't care if its true!" Anne proclaimed. "And lastly, this is hardly the way to entice me to say yes!" she told him. "Gilbert came to me to help me as a friend when he knew I would need it." She told Charlie straight. "How dare you try and reprimand him for such a kind deed."

"He's not even your friend!" Charlie shouted in her face "You hate him…Fine!" Charlie exclaimed. "Honestly the pair of you!" Charlie exclaimed to her as he was walking away "two peas in a pod!"

* * *

Matthew may have a soft spot for Anne, or maybe he saw a need which needed to be fulfilled. All the other kids had one, He didn't quite understand Marilla's objection to the devices. They were good, had games on, had messaging on so she could keep in touch, a camera so she could keep her good memories fresh, it would mean she had a tie to them too. It didn't need to be a big fancy one, That Blythe boy who had stayed the night a month ago said he worked for his, paid for it out of his own money. Maybe Anne could work for hers too. He didn't want to make it a big deal and the latest models were out of the question, but maybe something like his?

"Ah Matthew!" Jennifer Harris said as he entered the shop. "What can I get for you?"

"Well you see…" he started. "I'd like a cell phone." He said to her. "One of these nice new ones you can get the internet on." He said.

"You mean a smartphone?" Jennifer asked surprised.

"A myphone4?" he questioned remembering the one the boy had.

"Well we don't stock that one anymore Mr Cuthbert, but if you want a nice one the myphone7 is just the same but has more memory on it and the camera is so much better."

Matthew nodded. "Well what difference does that make?" he asked.

"Well if the memory is bigger you can store more things on it." Jennifer explained.

"More memory keeping." He said with a nod. "Yes, I'll take one."

So come Christmas morning Anne squealed in delight as she opened her present from Matthew, a loud tut coming from Marilla

"EkkkK!" she exclaimed. "Oh Matthew the myphone7 thank you thank you!" she exclaimed. "Oh its beautiful! I'm going skype Diana off it and surprise her with my new number!" she exclaimed jumping up.

Marilla looked wordlessly to Matthew who defended. "All the young uns have one now Marilla, Diana and Ruby, Josie and Gilbert, they all have one, I figured its not fair for Anne to be the odd one out. So I thought she might like it."

"You'll spoil her." Marilla stated.

"Maybe." Matthew said. "But you should have seen her that night Diana Barry came in here asking for help. You'd see, she deserves the little things. And that Blythe boy has a phone, he works for it I heard him say, I figured Anne would be able to do the same."

"A cell phone." Marilla said shaking her head standing up, "What will it be next year a new car?"

* * *

Gilbert knew how to talk.

Anne gave him that.

They had just come back from the Christmas holidays, their chemistry project had been a success. Much to the look of disgust on Mr Phillips face, he soon had them paired in different partnership, apparently, no one had ever got 100 per cent before, and the success of the two had burnt a hole in Mr Phillips desire to humiliate Anne, and so moved her to be next to Jane Andrews and Gilbert with Charlie.

Their temporary alliance over Anne went back to not speaking to Gilbert, although even she admitted he was the smartest boy she had ever met.

Not to mention that Christmas ball. Anne cringed at the very memory of it. Anne had just be grateful it had been on the night they started their Christmas break, her mini breakdown had been long forgotten.

Of course there had been the dance. Of all the people in the room to know about that song, it was Gilbert Blythe. Of course, he had been a gentleman, coming to her rescue like that! Holding her long enough that no one knew she was crying in his arms and simply escorted her out the room walked away and didn't expect anything in return, it had almost been enough for her to forgive him.

Charlie hadn't talked to her since, she did know Charlie and Gilbert had got into some argument at the Christmas ball, over her, after Gilbert had stolen 'their moment' from Anne and Charlie. Charlie had soon forgiven Gilbert, telling him 'bro's before hoe's' within earshot of Anne and she was furious with Gilbert for having forgiven Charlie using such terminology. Nothing else could be expected from Charlie, but Gil was a self-proclaimed feminist, no feminist would withstand such a sexist term., Charlie didn't seek forgiveness from Anne, he simply ignored her, which was fine by her.

Right now, still in detention, Gilbert still being the one who was talking, Anne wondered how he could fill his head with so many useless facts and still be so smart.

Todays useless fact seemed to really have him going.

Ugly people are more likely to get harsher prison sentences as opposed to attractive people.

He had started quite logically about it but had soon spiralled on a trail of thought that only Anne could understand.

"I mean maybe its evolutionary." He said his eyes glazing over "you know the 'superior' attractive human race trying to supress and lessen the chances of the 'ugly' humans reproducing." He sighed. "Not that two ugly parents always make an ugly child, isn't that something…" he sighed "Not that a pretty face is the be all and end all." He continued "Personally I would think in the laws of evolution you'd want the smartest not the prettiest to survive in the race… but then I think there is something to be said for…"

"don't you ever shut up?!" Anne exclaimed. After three months of him endlessly nattering about nothing at all she had enough. She glared at him, "You've talked none stop for 15 minutes every day about nothing!"

"The rules state one of us has to be talking, you never say anything so I have to."

"Maybe if you shut up long enough I might get a word in edgeways!" she exclaimed.

"Fine then, you talk." He said.

Anne looked at him mad for a moment before she muttered quietly "I don't have anything to say." There was a marked silence between them

"Where are your glasses?" Gilbert asked her, for this first time having and excuse to look into her eyes. he'd noticed the second he'd seen her that morning, but only now in the safety of annoying her did he find the courage to ask.

"I figured..." she started "it was maybe time to stop hiding behind them." She said quietly. "why?" she asked him almost accusingly.

"Just wondering..." he said quietly to her. He wondered if what he had said had made a difference, could she not be wearing them as a sign she trusted him.

Anne sighed. "what were you saying?"

"… I was talking about how I thought it didn't matter how pretty someone was in the laws of evolution."

"Right." Anne said then looked at him. "continue…" she told him.

"There's something to be said for the intelligence of a person, you know in that study, People who are physically attractive are assumed to be clever, successful and have more friends…"


	6. AOGG Chapter 6

"A literature club?" Miss Stacy said smiling at Anne.

"That's right." Anne confirmed. "The clubs are varied here and I do know a number of them have extra credit for going to them. "Mr Hamilton agreed that we could attach extra credit to it, with his approval of course on the pieces handed in, they had to be up to quality but he didn't mind us writing and critiquing each other's work, he says it always helps. He said a facility member had to be present two meetings a month to ensure the quality and he would happily do one. Miss Rennie said she would do the other and all I needed to do was to come and ask you if we could form it."

"Well I think it's a simply wonderful idea! If its not too much trouble I would like to attend some of the meetings myself?"

"Oh of course Miss Stacy!" she exclaimed happily.

Miss Stacy looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. "You know it would be open to all students don't you?" She asked Anne. Anne looked at her confused for a moment and nodded her head "even the likes of Gilbert Blythe if he wanted to."

Anne swallowed for a moment. "I can work with Gilbert, when I'm required to do it, we work rather well together… unfortunately." She ended in a whisper. "Gilbert would be more then welcome, although it does require some imagination." She said her nose going in the air.

Miss Stacy repressed a giggle. "Alright then, form away."

* * *

"I am so excited!" Anne said putting out the papers in the classroom with Diana. "The chance to expand our minds, our imaginations…." Anne said smiling.

"Some of us need it more then others." Diana said looking at Anne her own nose upturned before Anne made contact with her and they burst into giggles.

"Don't you think it'll be wonderful!" Anne exclaimed her hands clasping in front of her as she got a far off look in her eyes. "We could study all the greats, Austen, the Bronte.."

"I hope we get to write something more exciting then that!" she heard Josie's drawl at the door.

Anne stood shell shocked for a moment before she answered Josie. "What are you doing here?" She asked Josie. "You don't even like literature class."

"I need the extra credit, or I wouldn't be here." Josie responded slipping into a desk.

Soon after a few of the other class members came in Prissy and Ruby. The club mainly contained girls though to Anne's surprise a few boys attended, one of which was Gilbert Blythe.

"Gil?" She said in surprise.

"Oh hey Anne." He said looking at her. "Was this club your idea?" he asked her almost too politely.

"Um yes." She said her mouth suddenly tongue tied. "I'm sorry but aren't you already busy with your other clubs?" she asked him. "I mean you have football practice on Monday, debate on Thursdays student council every other Friday…"

Gilbert chuckled a little "Why do you care how many clubs I go to?" he asked her almost flirting.

"I do not!" She protested. "It…its…" she sighed "Its just an observation." She said coolly.

Gilbert's bottom lip protruded as he nodded for a moment "Just needed a way to fill my Wednesday." He told her and as she looked at him a tested teasing smile spread across his lips as he winked at her, for some reason Anne looked at him and couldn't take her eyes off him for a moment or two. He left her standing rather dumbly as he took a seat on the other side of the classroom.

Gilbert had known fine well what he had done, the effect was completely a matter of chance, he knew she hated it when he played 'as cool as a cucumber' and that was what he was playing. In truth he had known exactly who had formed the new group the minute the posters went up around school he had decided there and then to go to it. Debate was fun, but he knew fine they might not be her actual opinions, he wanted to know her, not how well she could debate.

* * *

"Urgh!" Josie exclaimed as she hurried down the corridor with Anne and Gilbert "Coach Rennie can't half talk, and I don't see how it was so important that he had to speak to ALL the Presidents of the clubs that it couldn't wait until after my French class!" she exclaimed.

"Since when have you been so interested in learning French Josie?" Gilbert said with a teasing smile to her which made Anne smile, at least on the inside.

"Moi?" Josie exclaimed. "Paris is the most romantic place in the world!" she exclaimed.

Gilbert who was still in the mood for a little teasing went right ahead and did it. "I always thought Venice or Rome was far more romantic." He said with a smile.

"Lets ask Anne, she is the most romantic person in the whole school!" Josie said half teasing half hoping just because it was Gilbert, Anne would automatically side with her.

"Well it really depends on what is being said in each language." Anne observed.

"Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?" Josie said flirting with Gilbert.

Anne rolled her eyes in an almost synchronisation with Gilbert.

"Nice!" Gilbert said sarcastically.

"That isn't romantic." Anne said straight. "Its raw and passionate but its not way to start a relationship." She said her nose going a little in the air.

"Sei la mia anima gemella. Voglio passare il resto della mia vita con te." Gilbert said in flawless Italian.

"Ahhh." Anne sounded. "Vous êtes mon âme soeur, je veux passer le reste de ma vie avec vous." "Yeah it's the sentiment." Gilbert said with a sigh. "No!" Anne laughed. "Du bist mein Seelenverwandter, ich will den Rest meines Lebens mit dir verbringen" "Ah German!" he said with a smile "such a romantic sounding language! " "what they lack romantically they more then make up for in efficiency! " Anne said which Gilbert promptly agreed to.

"What?" Josie asked them.

"You are my soulmate, I want to spend the rest of my life with you." She translated.

Anne and Gilbert exchanged a look Josie didn't like jealousy stirring in her, before she glanced in a classroom they were passing then did a double take. "Oh My God!" Josie exclaimed her eyes wide at the scene before her. The total shock in Josie's voice was enough for both Anne and Gilbert to follow her eyeline. Their eyes both widening at the scene. It was several seconds before Gilbert took both girls by their arms and hid them immediately next to the window.

He took a gulp then looked at his two companions. "Did anyone else see what I did?" Gilbert questioned them

Anne coming out of her daze swallowed "I can barely believe it though I think I did, the image is burnt onto my retinas!" she exclaimed as she covered her eyes with her hand rubbing them slightly. The action made Gilbert grin.

"I know what I have to do." Josie said with a malicious grin. "I've been trying to find a way to get back at that little cheat since she copied my chemistry paper. She got an 'B-' and I got a measly 'C+'…"

"I don't think you'd like her way of getting an 'A' Josie." Anne said as now the two girls synchronised their shudders.

"But this, is the perfect blackmailing tool." Josie continued "Now I can get back at that little lying cheating 'little miss perfect Prissy Andrews!"

"No, this is worth thinking about." Gilbert said seriously to her. "If this gets out and its found that we knew about it we could get into trouble."

"Goody two shoes!" Josie exclaimed to Gilbert. "What's wrong with a little bit of blackmail!"

"Josie he is a teacher!" Gilbert whispered. "In a position where he is trusted by parents with their children. Even if this is a one off thing, what will happen to Mr Phillips once word gets out he was… was…"

"You can't even say it can you?" Josie mocked Gilbert.

"kissing a student?" Anne put forward.

"Making out more like." Josie snorted. "With heavy petting!" she said with a twisted smile which didn't even suit Josie.

"You don't think they are…" Anne started.

"Urgh!" Gilbert interrupted her. "please, don't even finish that sentence." He took a breath then looked at Anne. "What do we do?" he asked her.

"Miss Stacy?" Anne asked him.

"No fun." Josie whined.

"But it's the proper authority to deal with it, and if its done through her rather than through the school board it might just be done with a little bit of dignity for Mr Phillips." Gilbert reminded Josie. "I think that's best." Gilbert agreed looking at Anne.

"You two are so boring!" She exclaimed taking out her phone. "Blackmail…." She started then Gilbert took her phone from her.

"You're coming with us." He told her taking her by the arm. "Three witnesses are better then two."

"Then let me take them as proof for Miss Stacy!" Josie exclaimed.

Gilbert sighed and took out his phone. "You may have a point." He said quietly leaning back to the glass taking a couple of select photos on his phone as Anne looked shocked. "I will delete them as soon as we've shown Miss Stacy Anne, I promise." He whispered. "Come on we best get to Miss Stacy's office now." He told them.

They walked towards Miss Stacy's office and into the secretary's office first.

"What are you three doing out of lessons?" Beverly demanded of them.

"We have hall passes!" Josie defended.

Gilbert nudged her and shook his head slightly before he said "We'd like to see Miss Stacy please, it's a matter of some urgency."

The Principles office door then opened and two very official looking men came out of the room and looked at the three students. "Speaking of outstanding pupils…" Miss Stacy said with a smile "Gentlemen this is Gilbert Blythe and Anne Shirley our two highest ranking pupils of their year group, and their friend Josie Pye she's head of our cheerleading squad. Anne Gilbert Josie these are Mr Pringle and Mr Smyth they are on the committee for choosing which schools get the Avery Scholarship."

"The Avery?" Gilbert smiled looking at the two men. "Here?"

"They would be looking to place it with someone your senior year." Miss Stacy said with a smile. "But nothing is a certain yet."

"And why can we ask are the two highest ranking pupils doing out of their lesson?" One man asked with a teasing smile.

"We need to speak with Miss Stacy." Anne said with a smile to him.

"Urgently." Gilbert finished.

Miss Stacy looked surprised but then sighed "Well I suppose gentlemen I have some urgent business to attend to."

"Are you three sure of what you saw?" Miss Stacy questioned them.

"Miss Stacy believe me, we wish we weren't certain." Anne said.

"They were definitely…" Gilbert trailed blushing slightly.

"Else he has a very odd way to help her with her French which isn't on the curriculum." Josie said with a snort to which Gilbert's hand went his face almost facepalming himself as he shook his head.

"Thank you for that visual Josie." Miss Stacy said.

"Gilbert got photos as proof." Josie said nodding at her own genius. "His phone, show her your phone." She nudged Gilbert.

Gilbert got his phone out and showed Miss Stacy the pictures. Miss Stacy's eyes widened as much as they did when they had told her the situation in the first place. "Did you share these with anyone yet Gilbert?" she questioned him.

"No Miss Stacy, my pictures only back up on Wifi and its switched off because its lesson time in school." He said obediently. "I keep it on silent the rest of the time." He said quickly.

Miss Stacy smiled and looked at him "Do me a favour and e-mail me those pictures, and I want all three of you to e-mail me what you saw today and how it was you were honourably in that corridor." She looked to them. "And I want all three of you to promise me you will not breathe a word of this to the student body until you hear otherwise and you will hear of it, no doubt in a gossiped manner."

"Oh!" Josie whined.

"Miss Pye." Miss Stacy said sternly.

Josie sighed and crossed her arms in front of her. "Yes Miss Stacy." She looked to Miss Stacy, "Can I go now, I want to learn French the honest way." She said. Miss Stacy sighed the note and dismissed her as turned on her heal and walked out.

Miss Stacy looked at her two remaining students with a raised eyebrow. "I wonder at that girl…" Miss Stacy trailed shaking her head.

"She won't say anything." Gilbert replied.

"I trust you two won't either."

"No Miss Stacy." They said in unison.

"Very well." She said writing them both a note. "You both in English now?" she asked them

"Yes Miss Stacy." Gilbert replied.

She gave them the note, "you may go."


	7. AOGG Chapter 7

**Waaaaassssss uuuuuppppp!**

 **How are all the Anne fans this fine evening?**

 **I just wanted a shoutout for this one! Everyone thank you so much!**

 **So this is actually the second off last chapter of the AOGG based one. Actually I had to move one or two things from AOA into the last chapter of this.**

 **So I have a question for you all...**

 **Do I close off this as AOGG2017 and start a new story called AOA2017 (although would I call it AOA2018? Hum?) as a continuation of this, or do I keep the whole plot in one story? I'm thinking these are big chapters and I don't want to scare people off with my word count (Because there's a lot!) What do you all think? (Leave in the review along with the reviews)**

 **Shout out to my girls as always Kim and Catie my rocks I love you both!**

 **OriginalMcFishie do you sleep? No matter when I post you seem to be one of the first ones to review! Thank you so much! And yes, when Anne isn't paying attention they are very good friends... And something is going to make her realise it very very soon!**

 **Queenofthenight82... she is definitely protesting too much! and its becomes glaringly obvious here!**

 **Ineedaname Thank you for continuing to support!**

 **I hope you all enjoy this!**

* * *

Anne walked into school on Monday morning to a low buzz in the corridors. She thought it was a particularly odd buzz but she couldn't seem to put her finger on it. It wasn't until she went into advanced Chem and the substitute teacher walked in that anything really started to click into place. She looked over at Prissy who was sitting quietly on her own her eyes down towards the floor. The substitute teacher looked around.

"I see far too many people not sitting in partnerships." She looked to Anne "You there can you sit with the girl in the back?" she asked her. Anne obediently went and sat next to Prissy.

"Hey." Anne whispered to her as she sat next to her.

"Don't talk to me if you're going to be like the others." She said almost accusingly at Anne.

"I… I… don't understand?" Anne asked her.

"Want to mock me for falling for a teacher?" she asked Anne.

"Oh." Anne stuttered. "I'm afraid I'm quite out of the rumour mill Priss," she admitted.

"You must be the only one." She whispered back accusingly. "Being called trollop and a call girl on the way in."

"I'm sorry." Anne whispered. "When you've been lured in by someone in a position of trust, it's difficult to tell what's real and what's not." Anne tried to sympathise.

"I was not lured. I love him." She whispered and at her words tears started gathering in her eyes.

Anne took a deep breath and looked at Prissy "I suppose timing is everything, two years from now no one would look twice, but right now that's what he did, it wasn't your fault…" Anne started.

"A man wouldn't do it if you don't give him signals you liked him." Prissy hissed at Anne, the words left a look on Anne's face which would perplex anyone who knew what the two girls were whispering.

At that moment there was a knock at the door where a student came in with a note for the teacher. "Pricilla Andrews?" she called. Prissy put her hand up. "You're needed in the principal's office." The teacher informed her. The teacher looked to Anne again "looks like you're moving again." She said apologetically. "You don't mind moving next to a boy, do you?" she asked Anne pointing at the chair next to Gilbert.

Anne almost rolled her eyes but said obediently "No, Miss."

She moved over next to Gilbert giving him a brief nod on sitting down.

"I heard they were caught having sex in the classroom." A whisper came from in front of them.

"Looks and sounds like word is out on Priss and Mr Philips." Gilbert whispered to her.

"Yeah." Anne agreed her eyes looking forward not blinking.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"Priss said 'a man wouldn't do it if you don't give him signals.'" She said her eyes still not blinking.

Gilbert took a quick sigh and whispered back "And what he just couldn't help himself?" Gilbert questioned sarcastically. Anne snapped out of her daze looking at Gilbert "Besides, you're no man at all if you can't show some self-restraint." He said shaking his head.

"But what she said…" she said slowly" was about the girl giving off signals." She said quietly.

He looked at her big eyed and there was something about her soul spilling over which he couldn't put his finger on "Oh she sees herself as irresistible to a man does she?" Gilbert joked before he saw the ever increasing perplexing look on her face. He then changed his tone and told her straight "She's been brainwashed." he asked her.  
"Brainwashed." She whispered.

"He was in the position of power Anne, men like that are not men at all."

"Yeah." She agreed quietly. "Yeah I know."

* * *

Easter was fast approaching and Gilbert was in a pickle.

He wanted to run as student body president. He liked being class president.

Thing was whenever he ran, he ran with Charlie.

He didn't want to this year.

Charlie had the diplomacy skills of a stick of dynamite.

And lets face it, there was no one who would vote for Gilbert because Charlie was on his side. They were all voting for Gilbert in that scenario.

He did however know someone who could bring a lot to his campaign.

They were smart, focused and could actually be diplomatic. The so called 'underdogs' of the school loved her, because she wasn't one of 'them'.

For example, he was class president. And a possible issue brought to him by his own class was the dress code.

 _"_ _Don't you get it?" Josie had demanded of him. "Why should we have to cover up at all?!" she exclaimed. "its not our fault the boys look." She said fluttering at him hoping for him to look at her for once. Gilbert knew what she was doing. She was wearing exactly what the guideline let her wear, the exception to the rule, her cheer uniform._

 _Where the school had every power to tell the girls what to wear, they had no jurisdiction over the cheer uniforms and girls were allowed to wear them in school. So Josie's skirt was exactly 13 inches short where the regular skirts allowed on the guidelines had to be just above the knee or at least 26 inches (on your average five foot three girl). And her cheer shell didn't have any sleeves to it she walked the line of modesty._

 _"_ _Your cheer uniform was made for people to look at." Gilbert said with a knowing smile. "Or do you cheer on the sideline for no one to look at you?" he asked her._

 _"_ _I cheer…" she fluttered, "For you to look at."_

 _He shrugged "I like the ones with the sleeves." He shrugged. "and those leggings things which Ruby wears with hers."_

 _Josie physically laughed before she stopped abruptly. "You can't be serious!" she exclaimed_

 _"_ _Some people Josie, like things left to our imagination." He said with a wink and closing his locker he had walked away._

Josie had harped on about it so much he had gone to the council meeting with it as an issue for the student council.

He did in principle agree with the idea that people should get to wear what they want and shouldn't be sexualised for it.

However, if a boy turned up for school in a 16-inch shirt and a top short enough to show his mid drift he hoped he would be sent home to find something more appropriate to wear. But not before everyone had the chance to laugh at him first. A grin had came to his lips as he imagined Charlie in said outfit. That would be a sight to see… and weirdly enough Charlie really did have the legs to pull it off.

It wasn't until weeks later he found out the big band didn't have the funds to buy new music that year.

He could have organised a fundraising event.

He liked big band music.

Anne would have known because she is friends with Diana who is in with the music bunch.

Anne was his perfect vice.

He took a sigh and looked at Charlie. "So I was thinking of running for student body president."

"Oh?" Charlie asked as they walked down the corridor. "You need your name in by the end April" he said it being mid-march "and that of your vice, You want me as vice?" he asked him.

"Um…." Gilbert started. "Well here's the thing…". He had explained tactfully why he needed someone else, he hadn't mentioned 'the' someone else by name. "But I bet if you ran as senior class president you'd make it. I'd back you up 100%" Gilbert suggested. At this the initially confrontment of not being Gilbert's vice melted away.

"You want me to be class president?" he said at this his eye lit up.

"Sure." He agreed. "Has a ring to it doesn't it? Senior class president?" he said glad of this victory. "You'd back me as student body president all the same?" he asked Charlie.

"Sure." Charlie agreed. They walked for a few steps in silence before Charlie said "You want Anne as vice, don't you?" he asked him.

"Um…" Gilbert started.

"Its okay." Charlie said with a nod. "Pretty face to lure the boys." He said with a wink to Gilbert.

Gilbert's kneejerk reaction was to object. But he knew it was a waste of time with Charlie.

That was one side placated, he now just needed her on side.

* * *

"I was wondering if you'd consider something?" he asked her that day walking into detention. He put his bag down to see her eyes come over the top of her book "Wow," he said looking at amazement at the thick book "War and Peace?" he questioned. "Ambitious."

"Have you read it?" she asked him thinking she knew the answer.

"Um, yeah, last year while dad was in hospital, I had nothing else to do but read, I thought I might as well make a legacy of it." He said with as shrug.

"Oh." She said with an angry blush snapping the book shut glaring at him. "What do you want me to consider?" she asked him.

"I want to run as student body president." He told her straight. "The nominations need to be in until the end of April."

"I don't want to run as president, what does it have to do with me?" she asked him.

He took a deep breath. "Before you dismiss the idea, I want you to consider something." He started. "You and I, between us, we make a difference, we are smart Anne, really really smart, and instead of competing for things I want you to consider how well we work together." He said barely stopping for breath. "Remember that science project?" He asked her. "Imagine what a difference we could make, if…" he slowed down and stopped for a moment.

"if?" she asked him.

"If you would be my vice student body president." He told her.

"What?!" Anne asked him her eyes widening even Miss Stacy stopped her work and looked in wonder at the young man who hadn't taken the opportunity to sit or draw breath.

"I know I'm insufferable to you, I know you don't like me, but I'm telling you if we worked together, we could do this!" he exclaimed. "I want you to consider as well, how good it would look on your transcript for college too, they love their student council members." Anne actually looked as though she was considering it. "Names don't have to be in before the end of April, just, promise to think about it. Don't dismiss the idea okay?" he asked her.

"Okay." She said quietly. She took a sigh and looked at him "I…" she started "I don't find you completely insufferable." She said quietly. "You are…" she swallowed and looked at him for a moment "Very… very…" she seemed to struggle.

"Yes?" he asked her.

"intelligent." She said barely above a whisper.

His jaw dropped slightly at the compliment "Okay." Gilbert said finally sitting down. "Good." He said.

'She thinks I'm intelligent, intelligent… that's me' he thought to himself.

And he knew it was true.

Because Anne Shirley said so.

* * *

"Miss Stacy said that when we act something out it gives us something physical to remember." Anne stated to the other girls that weekend, the middle of the day seemed such a romantic time to play it out. "Ruby you are the fairest of us, you should be Elaine."

"That's not fair Anne, this is your idea." Diana stated matter of factly. "You should be Elaine."

Anne took a heavy sigh.

"and I don't know the poem Anne, it wouldn't be half as romantic since I don't know Elaine like you do." Ruby said to Anne.

"But my hair is red, Elaine was fair."

"by complexion," Ruby commented "I tan and my hair is dyed blonde." She sighed "I'm afraid you are the fairest Anne."

Anne sighed and got in the boat. "Alright, if you say so." She said.

* * *

Gilbert thought it was best if he rowed the Andrews boat back to them. After all he had no idea when he would be able to return it now. He yanked the oars in a way he knew he shouldn't but it felt good to do. Well not good exactly, rather better then the emotions he was trying to ignore right then. He could feel the tears returning to his eyes so he yanked again and again. It was when he got to the bridge he saw a tiny wet figure clinging to a post.

"Anne?" he said looking at her then the post wondering if she had fallen from the bridge wondering how on earth she had done it. "How?!" he exclaimed.

"I was on the Pye's dory when it sprung a leak, its currently down there somewhere." She swallowed slightly as he put his hand out for her.

"Come on." He said gently.

She sighed heavily and got on board the boat with him. As he started to row she managed a small but resentful "Thank you."

He grinned slightly before he said almost sarcastically "Anything for milady in destress."

Anne didn't miss the sound in his voice. "If you're going to be like that its better not to say anything at all." she told him straight.

"Fine then." He agreed. "I won't." he took a big sigh and said "I'll take you to the landing just there." It didn't take long for them to get to the landing, when Anne sprung up from the boat and scrambled onto land. "Anne." He called to her. She turned around and looked at him.

"I'm sorry about just then." He said quietly. "I didn't mean to sound sarcastic."

"Its fine Gil." She said,

"No, it really isn't." he stepped out of the boat himself and came equal to her. "Anne please?" he questioned. "can we not just be friends, when we talk we really talk, and I don't do that with anyone else. Please can't we put this childishness behind us…"

"Childishness?!" Anne exclaimed. "childishness?!" she repeated. "You know what is childish Gilbert?" she asked him. "when a boy tugs on your hair and calls you carrots, humiliates you in front of the whole class…"

"I've apologised for that so many times Anne, we would be great friends can't you see that?" he asked her.

She looked at him and there was a sincerity to his words. He hadn't spoken a word of lies, the few occasions they had opened up to each other, they really opened up and each time afterwards he fell back into his comfortable rivalry roll. They were rivals for a reason! Couldn't he see that and he was the reason. "I don't want to be friends with you, why can't you see that?!" she objected.

She expected him to ask again, or maybe say nothing and submissively get back in the boat, she wasn't expecting what did happen. "You know what?" he said plainly. "Fine! I quit! I give up, you got me!" he said a bit more assertively. "I am sick of trying to meet your approval! I'm sick of the fact that every time I think I make some leeway with you, you to knock me back. I've apologised to you I don't know how many times! I've had enough of your silly, little school girl temper tantrums and antics!" he said the final bit he physical shouted "So be like that see if I care!" he finished and jumped in the boat and rowed away.

Anne stood for a moment watching him row away and something heavy hit her heart. She turned and blushed. That behaviour was not like Gilbert.

* * *

Anne didn't have another thought about it until she turned up for detention the following Monday at school. She sat at the desk in Miss Stacy's office a look from Miss Stacy told her everything wasn't okay. In fact, she couldn't recall seeing Gilbert that day at all, she usually avoided his gaze during school and some days it had felt like she never saw him until she had to sit opposite him in that room, but today it really had felt like she hadn't seen Gilbert.

"Where is he?" she asked Miss Stacy.

"You mean you don't know?" Miss Stacy asked her.

"Know what?" Anne asked.

"I thought the corridors were alight with gossip." Miss Stacy said honestly.

"I don't listen to gossip." Anne said truthfully.

Miss Stacy nodded. "I got a rather distressed answering machine message left on the schools answer phone over the weekend." Miss Stacy told her. "From Gilbert."

Anne looked to Miss Stacy thinking she knew what was coming but dreading the truth. "And?" she asked.

"He said only that his dad had been called back up to the hospital in Toronto and he was going up there with him, apparently, they found need to run some more tests."

Anne's eyes widen "A relapse?" she asked.

"I really don't know yet, Gilbert hasn't been back in touch, but I think that's what he feared." Miss Stacy told her.

"When did he leave the message?" she asked wondering if she had stumbled across the reason for their heated counter by the lakeside.

"About 11:30 in the morning on Saturday, he mumbled something about returning a boat and running some errands before they had to go." Miss Stacy sighed, "I don't think he was thinking straight." Miss Stacy said.

As soon as Miss Stacy looked away Anne shut her eyes in shame.

'your silly, little school girl temper tantrums and antics' He had said.

No wonder he had said it. No wonder he had lost his temper. What was really on his mind was his father, possibly relapsing.

And she had given him a hard time, over pulling her hair. Just to get her attention.

She bit her bottom lip and unknown to her, her cheeks coloured.

That was the moment she knew it really didn't matter anymore, she should have forgiven him.

And she was sorry.

"I don't think these detentions were doing any good." Miss Stacy pretended to admit, although she knew they had been. "When Gilbert gets back, I'll let him know they've come to an end."

"Really?" Anne asked.

"It's a shame really." Miss Stacy sighed. "I always though you two would make very good friends."

* * *

"Gil-my-man!" Charlie exclaimed as Gilbert walked into registration a week later. "We weren't expecting you back so soon."

Anne burned as she watched him past though she noticed a decided coolness to his behaviour as he walked past her desk to sit on the one directly behind her.

"Yeah." He said.

"Is your dad alright man? You had us all scared?" Moody asked.

Anne noticed the pause Gilbert gave before answering. It was plainly obvious to her but no one around her. "Yeah." He said quietly. "All is well." He said.

Anne turned to Diana and whispered to her "he doesn't talk much about his dad to other people."

"Gilbert?" Diana asked and shrugged. "He doesn't really open up to anyone."

"Really?" Anne asked surprised.

"You seem surprised Anne." Diana stated.

"Nothing its just…" she trailed. "Never mind." She said shaking her head.

Her stomach turned inside of her. He had opened up, to one person. To her. He'd talked about his dad that night when he'd came to Green Gables. He had said how it hurt and she'd heard him at the time, but had she listened she would have realised how _personal_ it was to him. And what had she done? Push him away until he had no choice but to remove himself from her. She turned and looked at him, they had eye contact for a moment before Gilbert looked own for a second set his jaw firm and looked the other way.

* * *

"Alright everyone we have a little bit of a problem." He said coming into the debate club a week later. "It seems the big game is on the same night as the debate between us and white Sands high."

The whole room groaned. At least half of the select team were members of either the football team or the cheerleading squad.

"Is it true they'll be coaches there from the university of Redmond? I heard they are looking for the best players for their scholarship to university for this year and next." Charlie asked.

"Um, Yeah." Gilbert confirmed. "That's what coach just told me." He sighed "which means boys any one of us juniors could get it, if we kept up our grade point average."

"What are we going to do then?" Josie voiced. "Just lose the debate?" she asked.

"I don't think that's necessary. If the team has a strong enough member captaining it on the night, then they can carry the team through to victory." He said firmly and knowing it.

"I suppose you want me head it?" Charlie asked Gilbert.

"I was actually hoping Anne would do it?" Gilbert said hopefully looking towards Anne, praying his display of impatience a couple of weeks ago hadn't ruined the chances of her saying yes.

"Oh of course its Anne." Josie exclaimed quietly to Ruby.

"I dare you to debate her then?" Gilbert said rather huffed at the insinuation, had he really had his feelings so obviously on display?

"I could win a debate just as well as she could." She tried to defend.

"Really?" Gilbert asked sarcastically. "Lets see then."

With that Josie blushed slightly and slumped in her seat.

Gilbert's eyes rolled as he said "No? Thought not."

"what about me?" Charlie asked clearly offended. "I'm the next in line, not Anne." He said still clearly slighted from Anne's rejection at Christmas.

"I was assuming you would want to be at the football game Charles." Gilbert said with a roll of the eyes. "Last time I checked the scholarship was there for anyone's taking."

"Oh." Charlie said with a slight blush. "That's thoughtful." He admitted.

"Right any other objections?" Gilbert asked to which he got no answer. "Good, then Anne, if you would?" he asked her. His eyes searching, praying she would say yes.

She looked at him confused as to why he would give her such a responsibility. It was as if, did he like her? Despite her unwillingness to forgive, despite the fact she always chose to debate the opposite side to him, despite the short and unwilling answers to their actual conversations, he had grown to like her? And that day by the lake she really should have forgiven him, was this her second chance? "Thank you." She said quietly. "Yes of course I will."


	8. AOGG Chapter 8

**Hi Everyone,**

 **Thanks for your help last week so I've came to a half decision about this. I'm going to write in the plot of the Anne of Avonlea under the Anne of Green Gables title for now (so keep this one open and add more chapters to this one) and then when we're done with the plot from AOA and we're ready to move into Anne of the Island I'll try and decide again then.**

 **Thanks for all your reviews this week.**

 **caprubia I can't believe you didn't see I'd published again! But never mind you found me the similarities you could probably tell are very deliberately there and will continue to be too, but I'm also about to (In AOA stuff) really write about how they are friends and how that obviously plays out. I'm glad you found this again and are enjoying it, they'll be a lot more non canon stuff coming up!**

 **Astrakelly I am _not_ killing off John Blythe don't worry.**

 **So many of you such wonderful reviews I can't name all of them! But thank you all soooo much!**

 **So this is the last chapter in the Anne of Green Gables next chapter will start Anne of Avonlea.**

* * *

"Gil?" she called to him the day of the debate, he was in his football gear ready to go to the game.

"Oh hey, Anne." He said looking at her as he stopped to talk to her by her locker. "Good luck today at the debate, I wish I could be there to see you win." He said.

"That's funny, I was going to say the same thing." Anne said with a smile. She had really tried to say something meaningful to him over the past week but in every attempt she's fallen flat on her face. He'd been extremely cool with her since the lakeside, not that she could blame him. She decided it was useless, they were never meant to be good friends. "You know, I mean about your football game… I mean…" she blushed. "I hope you get the scholarship." She said finally. "If nothing else so you don't have to go head to head with me for the Avery." She said with a wry smile.

He chuckled for a moment before he said, "Well that's a comfort." He told her, "Though I'm sure I could beat you to it." Their conversation came to a halt when Anne's phone began to ring.

"Hello?" she answered. "Yes this is she." The look on Anne's face changed and Gilbert instantly knew something was wrong. "What!?" Anne exclaimed as Gilbert stepped to her side holding her elbow in worry. "No!" she protested. "I…I…" she trailed.

"Anne, what is it?" He asked her.

"It's Matthew." She cried, "he's been taken to hospital, they think it's a heart attack!" She said the tears forming in her eyes. "Gil, what do I do?" She asked him.

Gilbert took Anne's phone from her "Hello?" he asked. "Yes, I'm…" he trailed, he wasn't sure if there was a word for what he and Anne were "…a friend, yes, she's coming. Which hospital?" he paused. "Right… and which ward? Yes, she's on her way." He hung up the phone and looked to Anne. "Come on." He said to her "I'll give you a ride" he told her walking her down the corridor.

"But Gil the game?!" She exclaimed.

"Never mind the game." Gilbert told her. "Charlie…" he called over to him. "The game, you need attack form three, seven…"

"And nine." Charlie said with roll of the eye as they walked down the corridor. "I know Gilbert."

"Be the captain." Gilbert called then turned to Anne. "All sorted."

"No, but, your scholarship…" she said still not thinking straight.

"They'll be other chances for the football scholarships next year, not to mention other scholarships I'll work and get one of those."

"But Gil…" She trailed.

"Come on, let me help you. I'll take you to the hospital I'll still have time to come back here and take your place on the debate team, we both know the strategy, it'll be fine." He told her.

* * *

They sat in silence on the way to the hospital as Gilbert drove her. Neither one of them having any idea what to say. It wasn't until they were nearly there that Gilbert managed to speak.

"Would you like me to drive your car here once I'm finished at the debate?" he asked her.

"Oh," She said. "Um, yes please." She said handing him the key with a pink fluffy chain in tow.

He looked at them for a moment and smirked. "Oh, Sorry…" She trailed. "Diana…" she trailed looking at the keys.

"That's alright." he said popping them in his Leatherman's jacket pocket. "true mark of a man isn't it?" he asked her. "Though if you ask me defining a man by colours is outdated." He paused for a second. "Actually, did you know that dressing boys in blue when they are babies is far more of the modern phenomena then people think? Even as late as the early twentieth century little boys wore pink as a sign, a watered-down version of the red uniforms they would later wear in life."

Anne looked at him in amazement, as if for the first time she noticed Gilbert was full of these useless facts. "Really?" she asked him.

Gilbert smiled at momentarily giving her something else to think of. "Yeah." He confirmed. "And blue was used like a mark of the Virgin Mary, as an innocence for…"

"Girls!" Anne said in amazement.

"Yeah." He confirmed. "Can you imagine…" he continued, "as a baby, Mr Darcy in little pink overalls?"

Anne smiled vaguely. "With little white pull up socks. Was there lace? Oh tell me there was lace?" she said said with a small smile tugging at her lips..

"The lace on Mrs Hurst's gown..." Gilbert said in a mocked high voice.

"No lace, Mrs Bennet, I beg you!" Anne quoted back. She looked at him the smile on her lips a little wider "I didn't know you were into pride and prejudice." she said.

"Well, I've been known to surprise people sometimes." He said with a shrug.

The heavy silence again entered the car as she failed to laugh but felt the empty pit in her stomach. "Gil?" she said.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"I'm scared." She told him.

"I know." He replied as big tears filled her eyes again.

"Tell me something that will make it better?" She asked him.

He looked to her a little shocked not sure of what to say. This tenuous… relationship, friendship, comradeship, acquaintance, whatever it was, was still brand new, how was he supposed to comfort her? "a myocardial infarction, happens because of decreased blood supply to your heart's muscle. Heart attack are actually rarely fatal, but the real danger is if he has a sudden cardiac arrest after." He told her.

"Is that true?" she asked him. "How do you know that?" she asked him.

"Um." He said in affirmation. "I looked it up in a medical journal earlier this year." He admitted.

"Why?" she asked him.

"Well, I, um…" he stuttered. He had never told anyone his life plans, what he really wanted to be. "Actually, I would like to be a doctor one day."

Anne looked at him in amazement. "A doctor? Really?" she asked him. "That's…" she looked away and blankly at the dash board, "…really ambitious." She admitted.

"Yeah, I know." He said.

"A lot of hard work." She continued.

"I know." He confirmed. "Don't you think I can do it?" he asked her.

"oh yes I do!" she confirmed rather more quickly then she would have liked to.

"Really?!" He said his chest puffing up proudly.

"Yes, of course," she confirmed. "You and I, well, what I mean to say is that, you're really smart, if anyone could…" she trailed as he smiled.

"Oh thanks." He said with a slight blush.

"Why?" she asked him, looking at him again. "I mean to say why would you like to be a doctor?"

" I think, its in our nature, to want to fight for something you know?" he started to explain. "didn't somebody once define man as a fighting animal?" he explained. "I mean the very laws of evolution prove we are and even if you do believe in a divine creation of man, well doesn't it say something about us, that a God would put us in charge?" he paused for a second to give her the opportunity to speak if she wanted to "I want to fight disease and pain and ignorance . . . which are all members one of another. I want to do my share of honest, real work in the world, Anne . . . and add a little to the sum of human knowledge if I can. The people who lived before me have done so much for me, that I want to show my gratitude by doing something for the people who will live after me. It seems to me that is the only way a fellow can get square with his obligations to the race." He paused again and looked at her waiting for a response again. "Well, that's what I think." He said suddenly going back into himself, blushing as he went.

"That's beautiful." She said quietly. "I…" she trailed and looked away.

"What?" he asked her.

"I didn't think you were capable of such deep thoughts." She admitted.

"Gee Thanks." He said sarcastically.

"Oh, Gil, no, I didn't mean it like that." she said going beetroot red.

He smirked "I'm only teasing." He said. "what about you?" he asked her.

"I'd like to add some beauty to life," said Anne dreamily. "I don't exactly want to make people KNOW more . . . though I know that IS the noblest ambition . . . but I'd love to make them have a pleasanter time because of me . . . to have some little joy or happy thought that would never have existed if I hadn't been born."

He looked at her for a moment and swallowed sadly. It was a beautiful but sobering thought, a lone Anne, thinking she couldn't bring joy when all she did was…"I think you're fulfilling that ambition every day," said Gilbert admiringly.

She blushed at his words and the car fell silent again.

"Hey Anne?" he started.

"Yeah?" she replied.

"Can you do me a favour?" he asked and without waiting for a reply said "can you keep the doctor thing, just between us, no one else knows and I'm not sure I'm ready to tell anyone else." He admitted.

"If you want me to." She confirmed.

He sighed in relief. "Thanks."

"but why?" she asked him.

"Just… I would hate…" he trailed and focused on driving for a moment before he admitted quietly "I would hate to disappoint anyone."

Anne looked at him surprised but said nothing and then returned to the previous fact, "so what's his chances after a cardiac arrest?" she enquired.

"Oh, not good." He admitted, "only five per cent chance of living." Anne looked to him shocked. "There's nothing to say he will though." Gilbert said trying to reassure her.

"No." she said faintly, "nothing." She agreed with a swallow. They arrived at the hospital, Gilbert stopped as close as he could to the door.

"I'll bring your car, and park it as close as I can, I'll bring the keys to the reception as you go in these doors." He told her.

"Thanks Gil." She said.

"And don't worry about the parking charges, I'll pay." He said to her.

"No, Gil, I can't ask that of you!" She opposed.

"You're not asking, I'm offering." He said sternly. "Yes?" he asked, to which she nodded. "Anything you want need or desire, WhatsApp me, I will get it, come to you, anything Anne, anything. Anytime" He emphasised.

"Thank you Gil." She whispered.

"I mean it." He whispered. He took some a note pad and pen out of the glove compartment "This is my number." He told her. "I mean it."

"I know you do." She said. She opened the car door then looked at him. "Gil…" she trailed apologetically to him.

"I know." He told her back. "Just go."

* * *

Three hours later

+19022914113: sudden cardiac arrest, he didn't make it. Gil, Diana isn't home and she's not answering her cell. Please help.

+19022919116: I'll be right there.

* * *

He practically ran down the corridor of the hospital to find her.

"Can I help you?" The nurse asked at the nurses station as he ran past.

"Um, yeah, I'm looking for Cuthbert, um… Matthew Cuthbert?"

"Gil." He heard from down the corridor it was Anne.

"Thanks." He said to the nurse before he walked to Anne. "Anne." He said as her arms flung around his shoulders and she started to cry into his neck. "I'm so sorry." He whispered to her. They stood right there in the corridor for a good ten minutes, Gilbert holding Anne letting her cry into him before she pulled back for a second.

"Urgh!" She exclaimed, "Look at me, I've treated you like vermin all year and now I'm sobbing into you like we're best friends." She said going all red with a half-hearted attempt at pulling away.

But Gilbert liked the feeling too much kept his arms securely around her. "That's funny…" he told her straight "I thought that's what we were?" he said quietly. Bringing out some paper tissues from his pocket for her to use.

"Best friends?" She asked him.

"Yeah." He nodded. "You and I." he swallowed.

She actually burst into a fit of giggles her hands grasping his t-shirt her head dug into his chest before she came up and looked at him. "That's awfully kind of you to say Mr Blythe, considering our history." She sighed, "Whatever can I do to make it up to you?" She asked him.

Well we could study together." He said with a smile "our brains together we could conquer the world!" he smiled as she looked at amazement at him. "I was hoping you'd take my offer of being my vice president. If we run together, I think we could make a real difference in school."

She smiled faintly then nodded. "Vice president huh?" She said quietly. "I suppose, if you admit in your speech that you never could have won without me." She said with a cheeky glint in her eyes.

"I could totally do that!" He exclaimed with a bite to his bottom lip.

"Your scholarship?" She half asked half said sadly, knowing what he had sacrificed for her.

"I told you I can work for another one." He said to her softly.

"The debate?" She asked him.

"We won of course." He said. "Thanks to my witty and charming skills." He said with a cocky like grin to her, one which only months ago, she had detested believing it was made to torture her.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, I'm sure." She said as she pulled away slightly his arm seem to naturally find its way to the bottom of her back. "Can you come in?" She said pointing to the room. "I don't think I can go back in there alone?" She said, her huge grey eyes were green from the crying.

Gilbert looked down at her to see a tiny kiss curl fall onto her forehead as she looked up to him. He pulled it back off her head for her and answered her gently "Of course Anne, whatever you want."

* * *

It was a week later when Anne came back to school.

Gilbert at first watched her from afar. He'd stayed with her that night their hands stayed in the others as they searched for comfort. Diana had called at about 10pm. It turned out her family had all gone out together and she had forgotten her cell phone. That had been four hours since it had happened. Anne and Gilbert hadn't spoken anymore that evening. Diana had driven Anne home. He had paid for Anne's parking at the hospital, he had paid upfront for two days and asked the attendant to contact him if any more was needed. But actual contact hadn't been made between Anne and Gilbert since. He wasn't actually sure if she had meant the words of forgiveness, or if she had just been too sad to care it was him comforting her.

It didn't take long for Anne to hear the whispers of Josie to her possy of cheerleaders.

"You know he practically gave up that scholarship for her. Coach had told Gilbert all he had to do was show up for the game and the scholarship was his. Well so says Charlie."

Anne burned as she heard it. She had known there was a high chance it was his, but Gilbert had known it was certain. But he chose to help her instead. She looked over to Gilbert with big grey eyes. He smiled then gave a small wave to her before she took a deep breath and walked over to him. She felt the scornful eyes of the cheerleaders behind her.

She suddenly didn't care.

She only knew she had to make it up to Gilbert.

"Hi Gil." She said softly in front of the other jocks. Who suddenly dispersed and shuffled to the cheerleaders to watch the events unfold.

"Hey." He said with a hopeful sparkle in his eyes.

"I just wanted to thank you again Gilbert, for the night when Matthew died. You really..." she trailed feeling her own voice start to quiver. "...you really are very kind."

Gilbert couldn't speak for a moment, it was as if his mind was really trying to assess the situation right, "It wasn't particularly good of me at all, Anne. I was pleased to be able to do you some small service. Are we going to be friends after this? Have you really forgiven me my old fault?"

Anne laughed sweetly "I forgave you that day by the pond landing truth be told, maybe even before, even maybe at the Christmas dance, or when we were studying together, I don't know for certain, I've just been stubborn, I've been determined not to like you. I've been—I may as well make a complete confession—I have been so very sorry."

A grin spread across Gilbert's face before he took Anne's books from her, "We are going to be the best of friends. You've thwarted destiny enough. You are going to keep your promise and be my vice president aren't you?" He asked her to which she nodded. "Good I'm glad." He then whispered to her "I've been dreading having Charlie as my vice, he has no diplomacy. Come on." He said gently guiding the bottom of her back. "So, did I tell you the president and the vice get to go to Ottawa, Ontario for a month in the summer vacation?" he asked her. "it wouldn't be too much would it Anne? Being with just me all that time?" he asked.

"No it should be fun." Anne said looking at him for any sign of resentment from him which she simply couldn't find.

Gilbert smiled widely and some cute little dimples appeared in his cheeks which Anne had never noticed before. He looked down at her books "can I carry those for you Anne?" he asked her before she nodded and he gently took them from her "I'm glad you think it'll be fun in Ottawa even of you do only have me as company, though it is dependent on us winning, come on lets go and get our names submitted, then we can sit together in chemistry and plan what we are going to do, maybe we could move our seats so we are closer together for our classes, that way we could do our work in half the time and spend the other half planning this, do you want to sit together at lunch?"

Anne laughed and looked at him a twinkle showing in her eye "Gilbert Blythe don't you ever shut up!"

"Sorry." He said with a blush being quiet as they entered the principles offices.

"Yes." Anne said.

"Yes what?" he asked.

"Yes, we should sit closer together in our lessons and yes I would like to have lunch with you." She said with a smile to him. He smiled so widely little dimples appeared in his cheeks which were actually kind of endearing on him.

It was while he was signing their names to be elected that Anne reflected that sometimes the best of friends, the most kindred of spirits could be found in the most unexpected people and it was funny she could tell now, he really had always had been.


	9. AOA Chapter 1

**Me Myself and I: I feel I should clarify something when I say 'My Girls' they are girls I am particularly close to on here, not my daughters, although I wouldn't be ashamed to have them as my daughters, but all the same... my daughter is 6 and my son is half a month off 1.(don't worry I'm not insulted, I love those girls I would be proud if they were my daughters) But I do agree with you 'my girls' are definitely very talented. I tend to upload sometime on Tuesday afternoon BST or UTC (Because I'm in England so which ever one England is in I'm in currently BST or Tuesday evening...) I'm a mother with young children its basically whenever I get to sit down for five minutes!**

 **Forget-Me-Not Writing: I think I did inbox you... if I didn't I meant to, yes I have watched and loved Green Gables Fables, the first line when Charlie calls Gilbert 'Gil-man' was a nod to Tanner Gilman who plays Gilbert in that series, see how many other nods to the other Anne additions I've put in here! Thank you so much, I tried so very hard to keep it close to the original text Its not always easy!**

 **Mip123: You know I imagine that she sat and cried into his shoulder in the hospital for that night, I just didn't want to write too much about it. She is devastated I just decided not to go there!**

 **Yes I made Gilbert a chatterbox, I never saw him as a silent type, I don't think he would know how to handle Anne if he was quiet. He's just a bit enthusiastic to have Anne as a friend...**

 **So I depart a little from Canon here, but its to watch their friendship grow**

 **hope you all enjoy**

 **Carrots**

* * *

"I don't think the campaign should be aimed at girls or boys." Gilbert said with a shrug to Anne. "Its about time everyone realizes it's about politics not gender."

Anne wriggled a smile. "I agree." She told him. "but you have to admit other people might not see it that way. I am going to be your vice president you know?" she teased him.

"It's just a title, as far as I'm concerned you'll be my co-president, you know that."

Anne physically chuckled "You really believe I'm your equal don't you?" she asked him.

He looked at her shocked "of course I do Anne!" he exclaimed. "my superior in far more then I care admit to either."

"For your masculinity?" She half mocked.

"More like my pride." He said a pet lip going out "I'm very used to being the smartest person in school by far." He told her "you're challenging me left right and centre!"

She laughed at him "You're far ahead of me in maths." She said shaking her head.

"And you in English." He said with a shrug.

"Isn't it lovely..." Anne said lying back in the grass "that we all have our strengths and our weaknesses. That no two of us is the same." She said her eyes closing.

"Yes it is." He agreed. "isn't it... " he trailed "our year group has such vast talents if we work together it could be the best senior year." He said turning in the grass so his stomach was on the grass his arms crossed his head resting in them.

"hey Gil?" she started.

"yeah?" He asked her.

"is your Dad really okay?" she asked him.

He turned his head to look at her one eye still closed. "how do you mean?" He asked.

"Just you were gone and I know you were at the hospital with him."

"That was weeks ago!" he exclaimed.

"It doesn't mean you aren't worrying about it." She said quietly.

He lay quietly for a moment collecting what it was he was going to say. "He's having trouble breathing again." Gilbert said slowly. "Mam was concerned so we were off again. Dad says its nothing to worry about, but that's what he said when I was thirteen too." He said.

"Its always on your mind isn't it?" she asked him.

"Yeah it is." He sighed heavily. "I don't know why I can talk to you about it though." He said honestly.

"I noticed you don't talk to the others about it." She said quietly. There was silence between them before she said "You can always talk to me about it Gil." She said honestly. "No matter what happens."

"I know I can." He replied. The smiled sweetly at each other before he said "They looked and couldn't find anything but they are still worried, he's still going in monthly for checks anyway, we just have to see how they go." He told her. There again was a silence between them before he gave her a lopsided grin. "Thanks."

"What for?" she asked him.

"For not saying 'everything will be fine'." He told her. She looked completely confused at him, "For the first couple of years all that anyone kept saying was 'everything will be fine' or 'it'll be okay', I got so tired of hearing it I stopped…" he blushed quietly. "not just that but its stuff that just, I can't always verbalise it to people's satisfaction." He took a sigh and looked at her "I don't need to with you. You accept it, I like it." He said with a shrug. "Hey come over later." He told her "we can work on that end of year Maths project together, then we can plan more for this?" He suggested meaning the election.

"Your parents won't mind?" she asked him.

"Course not." He assured her.

"Okay sure." She agreed. "I still think the cupcake idea is good, stimulate the senses a bit."

"You think Diana will be up for baking 300 cupcakes?" He asked her.

"It'll be a project!" Anne exclaimed. "For the home economy class." She smiled "we can go in and get them all on side, ask the teachers for the extra time in the classroom. Class of 15, three hundred cupcakes that's only twenty each and we if we get them all on side that's 5% of the student body." She said logically with laugh "Plus Diana said the best way to a man's heart is through his stomach."

"Oh is that why my receiver is getting a little pot belly on him!" Gilbert laughed with her. "So we're going to get up to 50% of the vote too?"

"It's a win win." She smiled. "It doesn't mean we shouldn't canvass those voters again though." She told him seriously.

"That's what a campaign is all about." He smiled.

* * *

"Hey Anne." Gilbert said with a smile as he greeted her that evening opening the front door for her. "Come in." he said cheerfully. "Welcome to Blythe Farm."

"Gilbert the farm is huge!" Anne informed him like he didn't know. "Your dad does it all by himself?" she asked him.

"We have a couple of hands on help." Gilbert smiled. "It's a dying trade," he admitted "I help out where I can." He said as they went through the hallway into the living room.

When they came into the room in an old rocking chair sat a women with long greying hair which curled down her back reading a book her eyes looked up, they were the same colour and shape as Gilbert's.

"Hello dear." She said with a smile to Anne. "You must be the lovely young lady Gilbert won't stop talki…"

"ahem." Gilbert said clearing his throat, his mother looked at him and he shook his head. As they sat on the sofa opposite her.

"…I mean, he talks about…" his mother said still looking at Gilbert as he continued to shake his head, Anne smiled as they continued to look at each other "…I mean he's mentioned…" she sighed "Can I at least tell her I know her name!?" She quipped.

"Its nice to meet you Mrs Blythe." Anne said sweetly. "And to make it easy on your son I'm An-"

"Oh don't do that dear." She said with a smile to him "far too many young a lady makes it far too easy for him." She said looking back at Anne "I have very high hopes you'll be quite different." She said with a teasing tone which made Anne smile.

"I should have known you'd take her side." Gilbert faked a huff to his mother.

"Well she stood up to you." Her father said coming in the room. Anne looked at him her eyes wide. The exception of the eyes and the curl in his hair (not that there was an awful lot on his head) it remained the same chocolate brown colour as his son's, the older man was the double, or rather Gilbert was the double of his father. The same strong chin the same roguish look to his eyes and the same twist to his teasing smile. "He needed the sense knocking into him."

Anne closed her eyes shamefully "You told them about the slate?!" she asked him.

"Oh we wanted to know about the pieces of slate we found in his hair that night." Mrs Blythe smiled.

"And the bump." John finished.

She looked at Gilbert with wide eyes. "I am so…"

"Forget about it!" he smiled to Anne.

"Oh never apologise for it." Mrs Blythe laughed "You should have seen his face." She said with a smile "You were the first girl to ever make any sort of impression on him." She looked between them "And now you're, best friends?" she asked her "or so my son says."

"Oh yes, he really is." Anne agreed quickly. "When my world was at its darkest he was there for me, he sacrificed so much just to help me."

"We are sorry about Matthew Anne." John said quietly "I knew him once upon a time he was shy but one of the kindest men I ever knew."

Anne looked up and smiled at John "You knew Matthew!?" she exclaimed.

"It was a long time ago." John said with a nod.

Mrs Blythe got up out of the chair "I'll make you some snacks for studying."

"Oh but…" Anne started.

Gilbert nudged her and shook his head "don't bother." He whispered. "no one leaves the house hungry, she makes sure of it, the more you protest I swear the more she makes."

John smiled and stood up "I best get out to that barn got work to do." He said moving towards the door. "You were right son." He said again to tease his son "her hair really is the most beautiful colour of red."

* * *

When Anne left that night Gilbert went back into the living room and sat crossed legged on the floor and opened a book, his mother came in and sat in the rocking chair and smiled at him.

"So that was Anne." she said with grin.

Gilbert looked up and looked at his mother,. "Um, yeah, that was Anne." he said quietly.

"She seems a nice girl." She commented.

Gilbert grinned not looking at her. "She is." he admitted.

"Is she a girlfriend?" she asked him.

Gilbert swallowed for a moment and took a sigh. "No mom, not a girlfriend."

"Oh." She said her head rising in acknowledgement of what he said. "A friend with benefits?" she asked him.

He looked up in shock "Mother!" he exclaimed "where did you learn that phrase!?"

"I was young once." she said with a laugh to him.

Gilbert took a deep breath "I wouldn't treat a girl like that." he told her.

"Just you bring this beautiful smart girl here and you look like her as if she's a goddess... what am I meant to think?"

Gilbert swallowed "Is it that obvious?" he asked. He took a sigh and looked at his mother putting his book down "There are a great deal many a benefit to being friends with Anne..." He stood up and walked over to his mother and kissed her on the head "...Just not that one." he moved towards the door and said to her "and you've taught me better then that." he said to her with a wink to his mother he left the room.

* * *

"I don't get it." Josie whined to Ruby as they exited the assembly. "I mean of course I'll vote for Gilbert, but a vote for him is a vote for _her_." She whispered quietly. "And we all know he only wants her his vice so he can win over the nerds, why would he want their votes anyway?" she questioned.

"The more people who vote for you is the least people against you." Ruby said thoughtfully "besides he said he wanted to unify senior class so we didn't have cliques." She said.

"But _why_?!" Josie whined again.

"I don't know Josie, I think it's kind of nice." She said dreamily looking over to a boy "Don't you think boys in other groups are cute?" she said with a wave to the boy once he looked over. The boy was Tall and lean (but not skinny) his black hair loosely gelled in a quiff with big blue eyes hiding behind his Buddy Holly glasses. He often worn a flannel shirt with jeans and braces, smiled at her shyly.

"Ew." Josie exclaimed. "Spencer Herbert?"

"I suppose." Ruby said with a brief and sad smile back at him before Josie pulled her away.

Gilbert headed for them with Anne closely behind. "Hey girls." He said a smile to Josie in particular "You will be voting for me won't you girls?" he said his lips upturning.

"Oh yes of course Gil." Ruby immediately agreed.

"Sureeee." Josie trailed reluctantly.

"Hey Gil!" Charlie called over.

"Oh and hey make sure you vote for Charlie for class president." He popped his hand up to indicate to Charlie he was coming "You'll take care of Anne for me girls, won't you?" he said woefully to them.

"Um yeah." Ruby said genuinely sweetly. "We're already good friends you know."

Gilbert looked at her confused for a moment.

"I tend to make friends by accidents." Anne laughed. "You know slates and nearly drowning in rivers." She said with a nudge to Gilbert.

"Oh that's right you were with her that day." Gilbert said with a knowing smile and he chuckled to Anne.

"Miss Stacy asked told us to memorise a section of the lily maid…" Ruby started.

"The lady of shallot." Anne corrected.

"Right her." Ruby shook her head. "Josie let us use their dory and Anne went in…"

"That's what you were doing in that dory!" Gilbert exclaimed. "Acting out the lily maid?"

"Wait? Were you there that day?" Ruby asked him confused.

"How did you think she got to land?" Gilbert asked Ruby. Gilbert laughed in recognition "You didn't tell them?" he asked Anne.

"I was too ashamed to admit after…" she trailed slowly to which his eyes played a merry dance. "… did I mention how sorry I was?" she said with a bite to the lower lip.

"Why Gilbert you regular Lancelot!" Ruby blushed at him.

Both Anne and Gilbert looked at her confused "Um, Ruby, Lancelot didn't rescue the lily maid." Gilbert told her.

"What? Then how did she get out the boat then?" Ruby asked.

"She died Ruby." Anne replied "That was sort of the point."

Gilbert chuckled. "Ladies if you will excuse me." He said quietly to them leaving them to talk he went over to Charlie who had managed to group together quite a few people.

"So why does everyone love Lancelot then?" Ruby said confused.

* * *

"Today on the 25 April 2017 at Avonlea High School Prince Edward Island at 0900 hours we are proud to announce the student body for the graduating class of 2018. Seniors in the class of 2018 were eligible for election and ran in no particular order as follows.

Eleanor Juliet Bouillia Class president with Jessica May James as Vice Class president. Gilbert John Blythe President, with Anne Shirley as Vice Class president and Joseph Mark Russell President and Harrison Scott as Vice President.

Eleanor Boullia 23%.

Joseph Russell, 25%

With over half the senior classes vote, Congratulations Gilbert Blythe 52%." Miss Stacy managed before the crowd burst into clapping.

Gilbert stepped forward with a smile and waited for the clapping to diminish before he started. "Thank you, Principle Stacy and members of the facility." He took a breath before he continued. "Our opponents, thank you." He acknowledged. "My Father once told me a prize was really not worth it if you didn't have to work to get it and my fellow candidates have worked hard on the politics and issues relevant to our senior class, we want them to know, we don't expect their input to end today. With only the senior class president, student president and vice president filled as per usual in our school, we would like to invite both the president elects and their vice president elects to join with us to complete the student council." There was a low and surprised murmur in the crowd followed by and instant roar of applause by most of the student body. Gilbert looked and smiled at his Vice, who in return gave a knowing raised brow, apparently her secret strategy if they won was an instant hit. He went to his former oppontants who all in turn nodded in agreement as he shook their hands in line. Gilbert then turned back to the podium and continued his speech as the class settled again. "We want you to know that we want to bridge gaps in our social groups, we want to truly represent the class of 2018. We would like to thank all those who voted for us." Gilbert acknowledged then a little in grin played at his lips as he said "And lastly I would like to leave the rest of my time open to a friend in whom, I couldn't have done this without, ladies and gentlemen my vice Anne Shirley."

The crowd was too busy cheering to notice his double meaning of Vice as she took the podium. The crowd settled and Anne smiled "A wise friend once told me to imagine what we could do if we worked together." Gilbert looked up and smiled, the only other person in the room to notice was Miss Stacy who peered at her newly elected Student Body President. "That is the kind of student government we wish to be, to represent our class, that is our vision of the next year. We look forward to serving thank you." She said then turned and sat next to Gilbert with a smile towards him.

"And now for your class president." Miss Stacy announced standing up. The candidates as follows

Ross Adamson, Clark Mosby and Charles Sloane. Class of 2018 your class president is Charles Sloane."

The room slowly clapped though the lack of enthusiasm by all but the popular group was completely lost on Charlie.

"Class of 2018…" he started. Gilbert and Anne looked to each other as if they were about to burst into laughter but contained themselves before Anne leaned over to Gilbert and whispered "Congratulations Mister Student Body President."

Gilbert grinned from ear to ear.

She'd called him wise.

He was intelligent and wise.

And he knew it was true.

Because Anne Shirley said so.


	10. AOA Chapter 2

**So, I do know these are little diversions from the original text, but I might as well just point you to the original text if I wasn't going to put anything original in here! I hope you all like the additions!**

 **love**

 **Carrots x**

* * *

Gilbert looked in awe as Anne entered the train station. He'd never seen her in a skirt before, the denim came just below her mid-thigh hugging her tightly like a pair of jeans her t-shirt was an off-shoulder khaki top which was long enough that it cut off mid-thigh. Her boots were knee high and her hair was let loose down her back it waved down her back.

"Hey!" She smiled as she approached him with a wheelie bag trailing behind her and a smaller bag in the other hand.

He smiled at her approach and stood up from the bench he had been sitting on. The words wouldn't form in his mouth as he looked at her.

"Are you okay?" She asked him.

"Um…" he said and then shook his head, "Yea I'm fine, just…" he looked at her again. "I've never see you in a skirt before." He admitted "I mean I did at the winter dance but never in a casual... Aa-and that top…" he said confused.

"Oh." She blushed. "Well I figured I needed to look a little better then my old band and geeky shirts." She said.

He looked at her and smiled "it suits you." He told her. "I mean there's nothing wrong with what you normally wear but, if that's how you want to dress, but…" he said managing to take his eyes off her "It suits you better."

She smiled and then looked at him "Thanks." She blushed.

She pulled out some hair straighteners Gilbert looked at her confused "Don't you need electric for those things to work?" he asked her.

"Energy cells." She said to him reaching into her bag throwing him one.

Gilbert looked at it and "hum." He nodded. "You have enough of these for four weeks?" he asked her.

"I have money to buy enough for four weeks." She laughed. He frowned at it as if he wanted to say something but wouldn't "What?" she asked him.

"Just your hair." He shrugged. "I dunno, I guess I don't mind it like it is." He said looking at her.

"Really?" she asked him, "It's not just messy?" she asked him.

"no, it looks…" he blushed "natural." He said looking away.

Anne nodded and switched off the hair straighteners. "Well, since its just going to be you and me." She said quietly. "I don't really care…" she muttered.

A smile played at his lips as he reached over with the power cell for the hair straighteners handing it back to her, "Okay then."

There was a silence between them for a moment before Anne said "If I knew the train was going to be late I would have done it at home."

"If it was on time it wouldn't have waited for you." He pointed out.

"How is that even fair?" She said to him with a smile on her face "If I'm late I'm left behind if they are late I have to wait." She said her nose turning up, he smiled at her as they heard the train in the distance.

"It heard you." He joked.

"Shameless!" She exclaimed.

They boarded the train in silence, though not a deliberate one. "Oh cool!" He said looking at the tickets again, "we're in a compartment!" he exclaimed with a smile.

"Like in Harry Potter?" Anne smiled looking at the tickets.

"Cool!" The two friends said together as they boarded the train.

He looked to her and smiled "You like Harry Potter?" he asked her.

"Of course!" she exclaimed "Anyone with an imagination likes Harry Potter." She smiled at him "Ravenclaw." She said proudly.

Gilbert smiled at her "Pottermore?" he asked her.

"Yeah, you know it?" she asked him.

"Know it?!" he exclaimed, hit his chest proudly and proclaimed "Gryffindor!"

"You're on it?" she exclaimed as they found their compartment.

"Yeah." He agreed.

"I wanted to be in Gryffindor, so I'd be like Hermione." She said with a sigh "Smart and still in with the cool guys."

Gilbert laughed as they sat down next to each other even though they had the whole compartment alone together. "Really?" he questioned "I always saw you as a Ginny Weasley kind." He said with a shrug "Red hair, smart as hell, and is one powerful graceful women." He said with a tone of admiration.

"She was still in Gryffindor." Anne observed and he nodded, "Anyway I think people see me more as a Luna."

"That's not a bad thing." Gilbert admitted. "Luna is awesome!"

She smiled at him "So who does that make you Harry Potter?" she quipped.

Gilbert shrugged "I always saw myself much more as a Neville to be honest. Or at least I hoped I'd be brave enough to stand up like he did, I always think Tom underestimated his powers."

Anne laughed "You mean Voldemort." She corrected him.

"Fear of a name… besides he was a little boy spitting his dummy out, Dumbledore never called him it, why should I?" Gilbert said. He looked out as the train started to move. "And we're off." He said quietly.

"That we are." She said gazing out of the window.

He looked at her curious "what are you looking for?" he asked her as the train station was steadily becoming a dot in the distance and they entered the countryside.

"Fairies." She whispered not even noticing she had answered.

" _Dim vales- and shadowy floods-_

 _And cloudy-looking woods,_

 _Whose forms we can't discover_

 _For the tears that drip all over!_

 _Huge moons there wax and wane-"_ he recited.

"Poe!" She exclaimed looking at him surprised.

"Always with the tone of surprise!" he said mocking insulted.

She chose to ignore him "Fairyland."

"Fairyland." He agreed.

"You know if you believe in fairies there's this hike right outside of Avonlea, no one really goes on it and it's a real shame, it's about five miles round trip, but in the middle there's this… garden, is the only way to describe it, I think someone used to live up there because there's a flat paved area with what would have been the base of the house, but the garden is beautiful and the views are just… well perfect in my opinion."

Anne looked at him amazed "You like hiking?" she said longingly. "I should have know I should have been friends with you all along, I tried to convince Diana to hike and she just moans until we come back, the furthest we got was a two mile round trip." She laughed.

"Well you're barely out of Avonlea!" Gilbert exclaimed.

"That's what I tell her!" Anne laughed. "Oh it'll be good to get out and stretch my legs with someone, can we go?" she asked him.

"The moment we get back." He agreed. "I'm curious Anne, on the surface you and Di, you don't seem to have much in common?" he asked her.

"I suppose that's true." She agreed.

"So, how come you're such good friends?" he asked her.

She thought for a moment before she answered and squared with him "I met her first, when I came to Avonlea, and I wanted to fit, I wanted kindred you know?" she asked him.

"Sure." He agreed. "I know that feeling."

"You've wanted to fit?" she asked him surprised.

He took a sigh and sat back "I kind of fell into the social group I'm in." he admitted. "I like playing football it just sort of happened." He continued. "I can't tell you how often I want to just reference something completely geeky and nerd like and I don't mean that as an insult, to be a geek or a nerd is to be _so_ enthusiastic for something it just _oozes_ out of you! And I _want_ that Anne, I _want_ people to see that I'm _passionate_ and not just some mindless fiend for the popular crowd, I guess…" he paused for a moment before he said "I guess that's why I wanted you as my vice president. You…" he said then looked at her admirably "you already do."

She blushed looked away for a moment before she looked up "Diana is sweet and where she doesn't always get what I'm talking about she tries to be my friend." She sighed "she was the first person to ever _try_ to be my friend, and you know we aren't completely without topics of discussion, she loves to read and have you heard her play the piano?" she asked him, to which he shook his head "Oh you need to Gil, its simply divine!" she exclaimed "I wish I could play like that. I barely have a musical bone in my body." She laughed.

He sighed contently "That sound nice." He admitted. "To have a friend like that."

"You know… we're friends like that don't you?" she asked him.

He smiled and looked at her amazed "really? You think of me like that already?" he asked.

"Of course, I do, a true kindred spirit." She admitted. "Don't…" she started "Don't you think of me like that?" she asked him wide eyed.

"I always did." He whispered, neither noticed their fingers intertwining with the other before they both realised their hands drew back and they both blushed away.

"Sorry." They both said in unison before they stopped and burst out laughing together.

"So if we're kindred spirits and your kindred spirits with Di, does that mean Di and I are kindreds too?" he asked her.

"That's up to you." She admitted.

Gilbert smiled at her. "I guess I'll be spending more time with her now we're friends." He admitted.

Anne shortly followed him "hey what do you think of Fred?" she asked him. "I mean he's your friend and you know him, is he good enough for her?" she asked him.

"Oh, Fred is a decent fellow. It'll depend on their own temperaments as to if it works out." He said logically.

"Oh, its scary!" Anne admitted.

"Scary?" he asked her amazed.

"Yes scary." She confirmed. "I just get used to something and poof it changes on me." She said her eyes going wide.

"Was it like that much?" he asked her. "growing up?"

"Yeah, and believe me, it wasn't always for the better." She said quietly.

"You think that's why you don't like change?" he asked her.

She looked at him seriously "You're taking me seriously?" she asked him.

"Of course, I am!" he exclaimed.

She chuckled with relief "You really are something else Gilbert Blythe."

* * *

Gilbert knocked on Anne's door six days later. The last five days had been fun, full of seminars where they worked in groups on team building games, strategy planning, they worked together and apart but had spent their lunches and evening dinner in the same group.

Anne opened the door to Gilbert standing awaiting he looked at her confused for a moment as she was dressed in her shorts hair tied back with a cap on and backpack.

"Anne," he smiled "You look like your going on a hike not a tour bus of the city?" he questioned her.

"Oh I um…" she trailed.

"And you were going to _abandon_ me?!" he playfully accused her.

"No, no I just didn't think you'd be interested in playing hooky!" she exclaimed.

"I hate tour buses!" he told her "they're too cramped and you don't get to see the real city, you know?!"

"No, I know that's why I don't like it." She agreed.

"Can I come with you?" he asked her.

"I normally do it alone, but sure, okay." She agreed.

"Oh, I don't have to." He told her trying to curb his enthusiasm.

"No, no!" Anne exclaimed then with a smile said "It would be nice to have some company"

It was twelve hours later they came in back through Anne's door.

"That was awesome!" he exclaimed dropping his bag on her floor and lying on it. "I haven't stretched my legs like that for a long time!" he exclaimed. "Anne that was sooo much better than just taking a tour bus."

"And when we had to hide behind the statue just to avoid the group I must admit its much more fun with someone to ramble with." She said laying on her bed.

"Anne?" he said.

"Yeah?" she asked him.

"We missed the evening meal." He told her.

"I know." She admitted.

"Want to order in pizza?" he asked her.

"Yes!" she cried. "Thank you! Spilt the cost?"

"Sure." He laughed "Oh my phone is dead remember; my charger is in my room." He said.

"Use mine." She told him flopping her hand in the general direction of the charger.

He obediently did so. "Thanks." He brought up just eat and shrugged "Pepperoni?" he asked her.

"Oh my favourite!" she said, suddenly jumping up a little. "Wanna watch something with me?" she asked him, "Since you're going to be here a while."

"Sure, what do you have in mind?" he asked her.

"Lets see whats on Netflix."

"Pizza and Netflix?" Gilbert said with a shrug sitting up his back against the bed "You are one classy lady Anne Shirley."


	11. AOA Chapter 3

**Hi everyone!**

 **Thanks so much for the words of support on last weeks non canonical modern day slant on the story.**

 **This week is like it again... I did have a little bit of inspiration on it.**

 **I think it was the BBC Version in the 70s which had Gilbert go with Anne to Bolingbrook. I didn't like the reason he was with her in that story line, and I didn't like that production in particular (Although Kudos's for their Phillipa Gordon she was a cracker!) but I did like that he was there. So I reworked it a little, hopefully it all seems a bit more natural that he's there and he's not just imposed on the situation (which to me is how it felt in the BBC 70s version) BUT I wanted this to be part of their bonding process and for him to be privy to that part of her (for obvious reasons in the future) So Yeah hope you all enjoy!**

 **Love Carrots**

* * *

"Ah!" Gilbert exclaimed as they sat in on their seat on the train. "Not that I haven't enjoyed it, but going home is so good!" He said with a smile to Anne.

"Well you know what they say about home being where your heart is." She said with a grin to him.

"Not to mention my mother's apple crumble!" he exclaimed happily.

"What is it with you and those apples!?" Anne said sitting next to him

"My Great Great Great Great grandfather planted that orchard full of strawberry apples. My Great Great Grandpa who I was named after loved them too, I guess its genetic!" he said with a grin to Anne.

"You know your family history, that's amazing." She said with a smile.

"Well there was the family bible in the attic, my family really has been all way way round the island and back again, before they ended up in the same house all over again. There are diaries up there, and stories one of my ancestors wrote, apparently, she was quite the writer with a huge imagination." He smiled.

"Have you never read them?" she asked him.

"Just haven't got round to it." He admitted. "But my dad used to pull out this family bible and pointed out everyone and everything to me, its really quite detailed. "Except my great great grandpa, his first name is only S. Blythe in it, and his mother who Gilbert was married to was listed as Mrs A. Blythe isn't that funny?" he said with a smile to her.

Anne shrugged "Maybe S's name was a girls name." She laughed.

"Anyway he was a pilot in world war one…"

"Oh then his military record should have his full first name on it!" she exclaimed.

Gilbert smiled as he realised "You know it should!" he said "I'll have to look into that I bet my dad would get a thrill from that!"

"So he was in the war?" she asked.

"Yeah." Gilbert smiled, "he never really settled in one place, had my grandpappy all the way round the island and back." He said with a smile "so he knew family had been in Avonlea at one time or another and the very farm they had sold off was up for sale, so grandpappy bought it, became a farmer said it was in his blood, my dad likewise."

"But not yours?" Anne said with a smile.

"I think I take after who I was named after, he was a doctor too."

"S. Blythe's dad?" she asked.

"Right." He agreed.

"Well, Blythe by name…" Anne agreed.

"Tickets please?" The conductor came round. "To Bolingbrook?" The conductor asked.

"Oh?" Gilbert asked. "Can I see?" he asked. "Yes, apparently, we have a stop over for four hours there before our next train to the port." Gilbert sighed.

"Bolingbrook?!" She exclaimed.

"Do you know it?" he asked her.  
"Yes, its where I was born, I lived there the first three years of my life, its where my…" she trailed suddenly going serious.

"Your mom and dad are buried?" he asked.

"yeah." She said quietly.

"We could… we could go and try and find them?" Gilbert asked her.

Anne looked at him bright eyed. "Really?!" she exclaimed.

"We have four hours." He shrugged, "can't think of anything better to do." He said with a smile.

"Any idea where?" he asked.

"Um yeah." She said, "The Presbyterian graveyard."

Gilbert nodded, "okay…" He said to her with a soft smile "That's what we'll do."

* * *

"Can I help you?" The Presbyterian minister asked as he saw Gilbert looking gravestone to gravestone.

"Um, Yes, We're looking for the graves of… Sorry I don't know their first names, last name 'Shirley', they died around 2003…" he started.

The minsters eyes looked up at him in a stare "We've had no one look for them in a long time. Bertha and Walter." He said quietly.

"Gil I can't.." Anne interrupted first from afar but then she walked closer with the tulips in her hand Gilbert had bought in a passing flower shop and looked to the minister "I should have known you'd make friends with the locals." She smiled

The minister looked to Anne his eyes wide his mouth ajar a looking at her. "It can't be!" he exclaimed looking at Anne.

"Do, I.. do I know you?" Anne asked the minister with the look on her face which made Gilbert think she had a vague recollection of the man.

"You're Anne, Anne their daughter!" he exclaimed looking at her.

"You know me!" she exclaimed.

"I did, you were only a baby, three years old..." he exclaimed, "Good heavens you look just like your mother!" he told her.

Anne jaw dropped for a moment before tears welled in her eyes "Really?!" she asked. "You knew them? My mom and dad, you knew them?"

"Yes!" he claimed "Just like your mother…" he trailed, "Except that hair, that's like your dad's." Anne nervously laughed before the minister spoke. "Your parents were buried in the newer section of the graveyard." The minister said to them leading them down a path. "I remember your dad sweethearted your mother in one of the nature parks not far from here," he told them "your mother loved nature always found her in the oddest of places, up trees in corn fields, laying in the grass, one day she went missing she'd only gone for a hike."

Gilbert smiled and whispered to Anne "Sounds like someone else I know." He told her.

"But when I remembered how much she loved nature it only seemed fitting to bury them here." He said showing them to a tree with a small plaque under it.

Gilbert smiled at Anne and held his hand open to her indicating to her to go. "I'll be right here." He told her with a smile as she went towards the grave.

He started to walk with the minister to give Anne her privacy. "Thank you for helping." He said politely.

"Oh no, that's okay." The minister said, "Me and my wife, we took Anne in for a few days after it happened."

"oh?" Gilbert asked looking at him.

"She was too little to understand they weren't coming back, when she cried she did it so quietly, calling for her muma." The minister cracked. "I wish we could have kept her but we didn't…"

"you don't need to defend your position, at least not to me." Gilbert told him. He went to speak then shut up again.

"What is it?" The minister asked.

"Well it was 2003, not the dark ages, do you know anyone who might have any pictures of her parents, anything? I know she'd appreciate it." Gilbert asked.

The minister nodded. "Well, there are still a couple of their friends living in town, I can ask around for you."

"Here," Gilbert said pulling out his mobile phone "let me give me, my e-mail address and number let me know what happens, I'd like it to be a surprise for Anne."

The minister smiled pulling out his own phone "sure," he said, "Sorry I didn't catch your name?" he asked.

"Gilbert Blythe, Minster." He said respectively.

"Okay…" The minster said.

"its 902-291-9116." Gilbert said.

"Thank you son." He said with a smile to Gilbert. "It's really nice to see her again." He said then looked at Anne then to Gilbert again "She's very lucky to have a boyfriend like you."

Gilbert turned and looked at the minister to object, but couldn't find it in him to object before he saw Anne stand-up "I better get back to her." Gilbert said gently. "Thank you minister, I mean it I think you've made Anne's day."

He went back over to Anne as the minister walked away into the church and stood beside her.

"Hey." He whispered.

"Hi." She whispered. She read the plaque "Walter and Bertha Shirley Beloved parents and teachers." She read. "They were teachers." She repeated.

"yeah." He smiled.

"That's good." She nodded.

"Yeah." He agreed. He looked to her and saw she was crying heavily "do you need a hug?" he asked her.

"Yes please." She cried turning into him before he knew it she was snugging beneath his chin breathing heavily into him and his t-shirt was wet. His arms wrapped tenderly around her. He knew not to say anything words never needing saying in grief they were felt. He knew becoming friends with Anne would be intense, but if he'd learnt anything this summer it was she felt everything to its limit! Love and Hate, pleasure and pain, Anger and kindness, everything! Gilbert wasn't sure how long they'd been standing there for before the minister came to them again.

"I'm sorry to interrupt." He said to them kindly, "its just I went looking and, we have your Christening on record, I can show it to you, if you like?" he said to them.

"Oh yes please!?" Anne exclaimed a smile returning to her face.

The minister pulled out a paper handkerchief and gave it to Anne. "Sorry." He said to her "Occupational hazard." He said with a chuckle. To which Anne laughed sweetly, the minister looked to her again "Sorry, you really are so much like your mother!" he said shaking his head.

They went into the office "it seems like yesterday they brought you in here." The minister said, "Your father was quite insistent you be called 'Anne'" he smiled "and he was sure it was spelt with an 'e'"

Gilbert grinned at Anne as she gasped for a second "I always do!" she said with a bite of her lip.

"He said it looked more…"

"Eloquent." Anne said with a smile to the minister who said it at the same time. "Well it does!" she exclaimed. She looked down at the baptism papers "Is that their signatures?" She asked him, to which he nodded and smiled.

"Can we have a copy of this?" Gilbert asked the minister.

"Oh yes can I?" She asked him.

"Of course." He agreed.

* * *

The two were walking back towards the train station where Anne stopped suddenly. "I know this path." She said looking at the ground then up in front of them. "Do we have the time of another stop?" she asked him.

He looked at his phone for a second then nodded. "Another hour and a half before our train." He nodded. "Sure." He agreed. "we just need to make sure we swing by that shop before we leave to get some food."

She pulled him going down the path quickly she pulled him into some trees "Um Anne?" He questioned. "Do you know where we are going?" he asked her.

"I think so!" She told him going faster the tree branches nearly hitting him in the face "Oh Sorry!" Anne whispered to him.

"no, its okay." He told her "I don't need my eyesight to become a doctor or anything." He joked as she laughed with him, before the woods opened to a clearing. "Wow!" he exclaimed looking around as her hand dropped his. The trees hid a small grove almost covered by trees, the sunbeams coming down through the branches and a long beam of light hit the middle of the brook running through the centre of the grove. Leaves from the tree lay on the ground different colours of greens and reds filled the grove the bubbling brook giving peace to the spot.

"My mom brought me here." She said her breathing unsteady as she looked in front of her. "She'd sit on the ground right there, we had a picnic blanket it was chequered red and white." She smiled "See those rocks over there? Going across the brook?" she grinned further walking over to them stepping on them. She used to tell me not to go across but I'd stand on this one anyway." She laughed.

 _'_ _Anne, baby girl.' She remembered 'that's dangerous sweetheart come away.' Her mother's face was fuzzy Anne couldn't remember everything, she could remember her spiral curls were in two bunches of pigtails off her face she was wearing a blue and green playsuit._

 _'_ _not dangerous!' her younger self called back 'water!' she called playfully._

"She scooped me up and we'd have pumpkin pie in our picnic." Anne said taking Gilbert's hand coming down off the rock and walking over to where Anne said the picnic blanket had been sitting on the ground.

Gilbert looked to her his eyebrows knotted "You aren't sad." He observed.

"I was happy." She said softly.

 _"_ _I love you Anne, my baby girl."_

"Why would I be sad about it?" She asked him.

Gilbert looked to her and took her hand "You are an amazing women Anne Shirley." He whispered.

"Thanks." She said back. "You know, the house I lived in, I'm sure wasn't far from here." She said confused looking around. "A little cottage," she said, "it was white with a yellow door. It had lavender growing in the window box and it was covered with leaves… of some kind." She said as if the memory was fading.

"Any idea which way?" he asked her.

"That way." She said pointing in a seemingly odd direction.

Gilbert stood up and put out his hand for her "Come on then." He said.

She smiled at him taking his hand "You're taking the word of the memories of a three-year-old girl." She said to him.

"I know the seventeen-year-old women she grew into." He said to her. "I trust her." He shrugged. Before he knew it she was being pulled up river by her until they came to said cottage no doubt about it, a yellow door with lavender in a window box by the kitchen window. "That's some power of recall there." He said with a grin.

"Thanks." She breathed. "The road we came off runs up there, she said pointing up the drive. I think…" she shrugged.

"Well you've not been wrong so far." He smiled.

 _'_ _Daddy!' she heard herself called. 'Your home!' she exclaimed. "You made the pennies?'_

 _"_ _I made the pennies." He told her kissing the little image of her there. Anne looked towards the door. "Hello sweet Bertha." Her father said kissing her mother._

 _"_ _How was your day?" Bertha asked him._

 _"_ _Nothing my girls can't fix."_

Anne smiled at the imagine "my home." She whispered. She squeezed Gilbert's hand. "Thank you for bringing me here Gil." She whispered.


	12. AOA Chapter 4

So this week its a particularly long one... BUT its because I combined two chapters into one, the reason I did this is that it flows much better then if I didn't, so you just get one long chapter!

 **Ineedaname** : I appreciate what your saying about Gilbert not correcting the minister but it won't come back and bite him in the butt! I did think about doing that but decided not to as **CatieGirl** said he needed not to say it to be a comfort to her. It made more sense in that minute for him to not contradict the minister so he could be there for her.

 **Amanda Pall** : They aren't actually going into the house at this point but that will happen later when Anne returns with our Phillipa!

 **Queenofthenight82** : Yes he's totally wormed his way into her heart! She doesn't know how deeply it runs yet!

* * *

"Anne!" Diana cried throwing herself in both Anne's and Gilbert's arms at the train station. "Oh Anne! I've missed you!" she exclaimed.

"Gilbert physically laughed while Anne looked to her wrapping her arms around Diana "I've missed you too Di." She said quietly. "But I've only been gone 4 weeks."

"Oh but four weeks in the holidays! I've had simply nothing to do…!"

"But spend time with Frrrrreeeedd!" she teased.

"And you Gilbert."

"We're not dating!" Anne exclaimed.

Diana turned happily with Anne down the platform leaving Fred and Gilbert talking behind them. "four weeks of ordering in takeout together? Watching Netflix? Going hiking together?" Diana teased. "It sounds like your dating to me."

"Diana, it wasn't like that, and it wasn't every night we did it." She said rolling her eyes at Diana. "Just every Saturday, we ditched the other bores and we…"

"What's he like?" Diana squealed.

Anne laughed out of disbelief "I can't believe you! the giggling school girl over Gilbert Blythe."

"Oh everyone is the giggling schoolgirl over Gilbert Blythe." She said almost flatly. "Who wouldn't be!?"

"Me!" Anne objected.

"You must be the only one then Anne." Diana said with the shake of the head.

Behind them Fred and Gil spoke.

"Buddy!" Fred said with a smile to him and a high five "Good time?" he asked.

"Yeah, it was awesome, we got some really good ideas for student council." He said with a grin to Fred.

"Sounds intriguing." He said with a knowing smile to Gilbert which shrugged back. "So how was spending four weeks alone with Anne?"

Gilbert paused and looked up at the back of Anne's neck. She had spent the last part of the journey with her hair straighter out pulling her hair through them making all the soft curls flat straight down her back.

"Why are you doing that?" he had asked her.

"Look people with curly hair have a look people with straight hair have a look and I have a ball of mess unless I do this."

He sighed and looked at her "Your armour again supergirl?" he asked her.

"Yes, I'm glad I have a friend who accepts me exactly as I am." She commented with a smile to him "but not everyone will."

"Its Diana and Fred!" he said with a chuckle and his head shaking but hadn't objected any further.

"It's been fun." He finally admitted. "Just as I always thought a friendship with Anne would be."

Anne turned and looked at him at that moment "Oh are you going to tell them your idea?" she asked him.

Gilbert grinned before nodding "We were wondering if you'd like a hike up Hester's Hill with us?" he asked them. "There's the prettiest garden and outlook up there. We could take up a picnic, make a day out of it?"

"That place is real?" Fred asked. "I just thought it was local legend."

"Oh there's a legend?!" Anne exclaimed her eyes lighting up.

"I thought everyone knew the legend!" Diana exclaimed.

"Nooo," Anne said "Not me."

"I think the legend itself is written down somewhere in all those writings with my family history stuff." Gilbert said looking at Anne.

"Oh we can tell her it!" Diana exclaimed,

"No, no no!" Anne objected and she looked to Gilbert "You don't think she would mind us reading it? Taking it up there with us and reading it outloud?"

Gilbert smiled "No!" he exclaimed "Why would she write it down if she had no intentions of anyone reading it!"

Anne smiled widely then looked to Diana "A dramatic and poetic reading at the location. Don't you think that would be far more romantic?"

Diana chuckled for a moment "As you wish milady."

"Why thank you kind sir!" Anne said in return with a laugh to Diana.

* * *

With time places are forgotten and although once upon a time Hester's Garden used to be quite a walk away, now the hill seemed higher and the walk longer up the hill and into the valley where the farm once stood the walk was a long one, out of the village through the woods and then the walk up the hill and back down, Diana let out a huge puff of air as they arrived there late two mornings later.

"How far!?" Diana exclaimed flopping herself in the grass.

"Its only been two and half miles Diana!" Anne exclaimed taking a breath as she stood beside her looking out over the vale. Gilbert and Fred were close behind them, had been carrying the old-fashioned picnic basket though the hike while Anne had a backpack for them all.

Fred opened the picnic basket as Gilbert brought out the picnic blanket he knew the small stream would be the best place for the picnic so came over closer to Anne and spread it on the ground before he stood beside Anne as she exclaimed "Gil it's beautiful!" she said with a smile.

He grinned at her. "I knew you'd like it." He said with a low voice then said louder " Maybe Diana would like it more if she wasn't lying on the ground!"

"Come on Di." Fred said holding his hand out to her to get a hold of "it is pretty."

"Pretty?!" Anne exclaimed. "That doesn't go far enough, neither beautiful," she whispered. "Its wonderful."

"And ours to enjoy for the day." Gilbert said with a smile. "Now I do believe…" he said with a grin "That we have some tea and coffee in these flasks." He said with a smile. "Can I tempt anyone?" he asked them.

Sitting on the blanket Diana and Fred cuddled as Anne sat beside Gilbert. Tea and Coffee was being enjoyed when Anne asked "Did you remember the writings about Hester's Garden?" Anne asked Gilbert.

"Yes." He said pulling an old book out of his bag and handing it to her. "Since you are by far the best public speaker of us all, would you care to do the honours?" he asked her handing her the book.

Anne smiled and took the book from him holding the old leather in her hands "Ohhh," she exclaimed "I have chills just holding it!" she exclaimed. "They don't make them like this anymore!" She opened the front cover "This book belongs to A. Blythe." She said with a smile to Gilbert. "So this is your…"

"Great Great Grandma." He said with a smile to Anne.

She opened the book and saw the pages were filled with her writings. "Wow!" she exclaimed. "A Blythe" she said with a smile running her fingers over the letters. "Don't they write so eloquently?" Anne asked with a smile to Gilbert. Anne cleared her throat and turned the page.

 _"My kindred spirit Miss D Barry (Now Mrs D Wright) introduced me to this place, though I admit I've been up there more often with my sweetheart Gilbert…" Anne stopped and smiled "Awww, she really loved him!"_ she smiled and continued. _"And it was described it as such; Beyond were the "back fields" of the farms that ran out to the upper Carmody road. Just before them, hemmed in by beeches and firs but open to the south, was a little corner and in it a garden . . .or what had once been a garden. A tumbledown stone dyke, overgrown with mosses and grass, surrounded it. Along the eastern side ran a row of garden cherry trees, white as a snowdrift. There were traces of old paths still and a double line of rosebushes through the middle; but all the rest of the space was a sheet of yellow and white narcissi, in their airiest, most lavish, wind-swayed bloom above the lush green grasses- only there will you find Hester's garden, the story goes that Jordan bought the nearby farm and built this garden for his wife Hester. Hester loved the garden and cared and tended for it for the four years she lived. Then she caught consumption(!) but continued to tend the garden, Hester grew weaker and weaker, unable to tend to the garden any more. One day in 1852, Jordan took her out to her garden for the last time. Lying there happily on the bench in Jordan's arms, she died there happily and was buried there."_ Anne sighed and looked up to her friends. "Gilbert, your Great Great Grandma has a way with words! She exclaimed.

Gilbert smiled and lay back on the picnic blanket "I think she was a kindred spirit." He said with a shrug "I bet we would have all got along famously!"

Anne laughed and then looked at the book "do you mind if I read some more of this?" she asked him.

"Sure." He agreed. "She wouldn't have written it down if she never meant for them to be read."

"You know now I've caught my breath…" Diana started "It is pretty up here." She admitted.

"Pretty?" Anne questioned "Oh Diana, don't you think it's beautiful?!"

"What difference does it make?" Diana said with a laugh.

"I don't know Diana, there's a hell of a difference between calling a girl pretty and a girl beautiful." Fred admitted. "Pretty can be something very unsentimental, when you're attached to it and know it and you love it as it is, that's when pretty becomes beautiful."

"Exactly!" Anne said with a smile to Fred "See Diana, if Fred says it, it must be true."

* * *

Gilbert came over and sat beside the boulder Anne was sitting on. "You seem to have made a new friend." He said with a nod to the diary.

"Oh Gil!" she exclaimed. "I can't falter her, she lovely, the perfect great great grandmother." She said with a smile to him. "You know she had red hair too?" she asked him "She said that Gilbert teased her over it." She said with raised eyebrow to him.

"Ah now I have an excuse it was genetic!" he said with a laugh.

She laughed with him, "and she loved him, very very much and so deeply. She calls him her soulmate."

He nodded and looked thoughtful for a moment "That'd be nice."

"You believe in soulmates?" She asked him.

Gilbert took a breath and looked serious for a moment. "I don't know if you'd call it a soulmate exactly." He admitted. "I think we're all more inclined to like another person because their personalities complimented our, or matched, even in certain ways differed from our own." He sighed "and I think that would make a good match with any two people." He sighed "but I like to think that soulmates are chosen not born." He said looking out over the valley.

"That's not very romantic." She said with a slight huff to him.

"Isn't it?" he asked her. "I think it is."

"How?!" she demanded.

"If soulmates are born then you have no choice in the matter, you have to fall in love with them you have to choose them, but imagine…" he started then sat up a little and grinned "someone saying 'yes, I could have him or her' or 'yes I could be with them'" he took a small sigh then whispered "but I pick you, I want to go through this world with you side by side, not because I was predestined to do so, but because I choose it because I love you that much." He said then snapped out of his gaze and returned to himself.

Anne smiled and said to him "I think you've inherited some of your great great grandmother in you Gil." She whispered.

* * *

Anne followed Gilbert into the assembly hall. Today was the first day of senior year. The two-friend smiled as they took their seats on the podium with Charlie sitting on the other side of Anne.

"Are you looking forward to senior year?" Charlie asked Anne as they waited for the rest of the senior class to filter in the room.

"Oh Yes!" Anne admitted, "It's the longest I've been in any school before, I look forward to a second year with the same people!" she said to him.

He looked to her shocked. "I didn't know that Anne."

"Well I don't talk much about my past really, it's a kind of need to know bases." She said quietly.

"Of course." Charlie said almost humbly. "You know we're all here for you Anne, you have friends here in Avonlea." Anne turned and looked him in the eye in shock that Charlie wasn't acting his lofty self in the moment and saw sincerity.

"Well thank you Charlie, that's very sweet of you to say." She admitted, to which he nodded.

"I'm sorry for the way I left things after the Christmas dance last year." He said quietly.

"No Charlie, there's no need to apologise." She said with a grin. "water under the bridge."

He smiled for a moment before straightening himself back "That's very gracious of you to say Anne, but probably just as well." He admitted "If we are going to be a successful student council." He said to which Anne agreed. "Good good." He finished.

Anne turned to Gilbert in amazement to see him chuckling "He was being serious for a minute there." Anne whispered to him.

Gilbert whispered back "Most the time he's himself, but then there's moments like that of real sincerity and you realise he's not all that bad." Gilbert admitted "He's just a Sloane, he can't help it."

Anne smiled and looked out over the senior class and suddenly felt the responsibility she had taken on.

"Welcome back, senior class." Miss Stacy started talking from the podium. "I want to wish you all a very productive year. I want to begin by reminding you that I think it's most unfair that the teacher should always have to ask all the questions, and I'm hoping that you'll be enthusiastic enough about classes this year that you'll pepper my staff with questions. Remember you're in senior year of high school, you've done the majority of your growing and at your age the best teachers will serve as guides. It is now you need to form strong ideals; ideals which will be the foundation of your future lives. I want to look back on this class as being the brightest, the most imaginative, the most committed students on Prince Edward Island." She took a moment to break her speech. "Now you'll notice we have some new members of the facility. I'll admit we missed our staff meeting this morning so I have yet to welcome them personally. Miss Lewis and Mr Irving if you could stand." She said. Two new faces stood in the teacher's line. Anne and Gilbert watched as the two staff members looked at each other with a glance. To which Anne and Gilbert looked at each other confused at the look on their faces.

"Miss Lewis will be taking the place of Mr Phillips who left us last year." Miss Stacy said to which a low murmur went through the room. "And Mr Irving is our new English teacher, we'll look forward to both…"

"Did you see that?" Anne whispered to Gilbert. "They know each other."

"Yeah." Gilbert agreed. "History?" he said to Anne.

"I think so." Anne agreed as the two teachers stood back in line. Anne and Gilbert gave each other a knowing look before they started listening to the introduction to senior year.

It wasn't until they were leaving the assembly hall that Charlie pulled Gilbert to one side for a moment and whispered "Say Gil, what happened to Anne over the summer?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"What do you mean what do I mean?!" Charlie exclaimed. "I don't think we saw her legs all last year and here she is in a skirt just above her knees and a top tight enough…" Charlie ow whistled as Gilbert swallowed and blushed slightly. Yes, he had noticed, Anne's clothes were a lot more fitted, you could see that tiny figure of hers she hid so well last year. "she's hot!" he slapped Gilbert on the shoulder "you might have competition for her this year bud."

* * *

Gilbert and Anne entered the room with 24 doughnuts (from a doughnut shop which shall remain unnamed for the story) along with coffee's and teas for the all. The student body smiled as the student body president and the body president passed around the said items.

"I can't eat these." Josie exclaimed. "The Gluten and the carbs I just couldn't!"

Gilbert stopped and looked at her shook his head and pulled a strawberry apple out his pocket "Happy?" he asked her. "I take it you're not opposed to this." He said taking a coffee from Anne and putting it in front of Josie, "No milk no sugar, just 100% coffee." He said with a smile.

"I know we're all anxious to get to work." Gilbert said "But today its really about getting to know each other." He said.

"We think the best way to work together is to be friends, don't you think?" Anne asked to the group.

"So we thought this would be a good way to introduce ourselves."

Around the table sat the new student council with every president of every club. Gilbert retained being captain of the football team and Captain of the debate team along with Anne who was head of the literature club. Josie was head cheerleader again and with Charlie being class president this year he attended also. Gilbert had made Joseph Secretary, Eleanor treasurer, Jessica as historian and Harrison as representative. There was also the class president from the Freshman, Sophomore and Junior years.

"Well that was a success!" Anne exclaimed at the end of the meeting. "I really think everyone felt like they could contribute."

"Not to mention the doughnuts." Gilbert said with a grin "good call."

"Oh thanks, I liked your resolution for Josie's dietary needs."

"I wouldn't call them needs, more like demands no gluten or carbs?" he questioned "I mean if your body has a problem processing them sure, but surely its about a healthy balance?" he said with a grin.

"I think we tipped the scales today." Anne laughed.

"Not as much as we did in Ottawa." Gilbert smiled as they walked out the classroom. The pair smiling when they looked down the corridor.

There they saw Miss Lewis coming down the corridor her hands full of books and Mr Irving coming out of his classroom reading a paper. Gilbert almost yelled to stop the collision but knew he would have been too late. The two teachers fumbled for a moment, Gilbert pulled Anne and himself out of the view of the two teachers and watched the exchange between the two.

"I… I'm sorry." Mr Irving said.

"No, it's my fault, I was carrying too many books." She said quietly.

"No but I wasn't looking where I was going." He admitted.

She nodded and looked him in the eye "well I suppose we both have place for blame Mr Irving."

"Mr Irving?" he questioned. "Is that how it must be Lavender." He whispered (to which Anne and Gilbert exchanged a glance).

"Mr Irving…" She started.

"Stephen…" he corrected.

"It must be Mr Irving." She said.

He swallowed and picked up the books from around her. "At least let me help you to your car with these?" he asked her.

She took the books from him with a blush and whispered "No thank you." She started to walk away before she realised. "The papers on the top are yours." She whispered. He took the papers and she walked away down the corridor turning just before she could see Gilbert or Anne in their current hide out. They watched as their new English teacher stood frozen for a moment before his head bowed with an obvious distress on his face before he walked back into the classroom.

They came out of their hiding place and looked at each other incredulously.

"Okay, that wasn't just me, was it?" Anne asked Gilbert, "there's some definite chemistry, right?"

"No kidding, you could cut the tension in the air." He said with a deep sigh.

"I wonder what happened?" she said with her eyes wide and sad.

"No, you don't Anne Shirley." Gilbert said with a smile to her.

"No, I don't what?" she asked him looking at his coyly.

"try and find out." He told her. "I know how your mind works."

"But, what if we could help?" she asked him.

He shook his head "What could two seventeen-year-old kids do to help in an obviously delicate adult situation?"

Anne sighed as they walked down the corridor. "I don't know." She admitted. "But if we don't know the truth we'll never find out how we could help."

"Who are we helping?" Diana asked her Anne as she came out of the music room. Hi Gil." Diana smiled.

"How's music practice?" Gilbert asked her.

"Oh good." She said with a wave. "The band really could do with some new music." Diana sighed.

Gilbert looked over and said "well you're talking to the right people." Gilbert told her with a grin.

Diana smiled "Yes I am aren't I?" she said. "well in that case can you spare us $300? That will get us six new scores. " she asked.

Gilbert shook his head but then looked at her serious "But if they band is willing to put some work into it, I bet we would raise the money. A series of events over the term. Buy them progressively, practice them, we can make nights of it, ask for donations where you play and organise concerts, do you think they'd be up for the challenge?" he asked her.

"Really?" Diana asked. "I mean yes."

"Alright, We'll put it to the student council, the next meeting is on Wednesday of next week, do you think you can get a couple of representatives to come into student council to propose it?"

Diana looked to him with wide eyes. "I… I think so."

Anne smiled at the pair. "I bet if we found some popular music for the cheerleaders to cheer to, if the band plays it, it could be quite spectacular show."

"You'd need Josie on side." Gilbert commented.

"Oh I'm sure you could convince her Gil." Anne said with a slight giggle in her voice.

Gilbert sighed "Convincing Josie means I have to charm her." He said shaking his head. "Alright for the cause!" he exclaimed.

* * *

"Hey Josie." He called after her.

"Oh Hi Gilbert." She fluttered falsly.

"I was wondering if you'd help me with some research?" he asked of her.

"Me?" she asked him confused.

"Well its of a musical dance well musical cheer nature actually. I thought you were better equipped for it." He said with his best charming smile.

"You want to research cheer squads?" she asked him.

"Kind of, and the kind of music they dance to, there's the game between Spring Park and West Royal is on Friday, then St. Jean's and Sherwood is right after, I was wondering if you care to join me?" he asked her.

"Yes!" she exclaimed immediately.

Gilbert nodded then turned to walk away then turned and said "You better not wear school colours." He remarked.

Gilbert in truth found it remarkable interesting to watch another team from the side-lines. Being a spectator was certainly eye opening to other teams flaws. But he carefully paid attention to Josie's reactions when she watched the cheering.

When they were coming out of the last game Gilbert turned to her "So what did you think of the game?" he asked her.

"Their cheer teams and the football teams weren't half as good as ours." Josie said her nose upturning. Gilbert shook his head "Don't pretend you didn't notice, I heard you yelling instructions at the teams of how to win."

Gilbert sighed knowing she was right, he was showing he competitive side again. "What did you think of the music the cheer squads danced to?" he asked her.

"Oh." She said her face lighting up "well some of the music was lame, but I must admit the live band dance piece was my favourite." She said with a smile to him. "That rock band really rocked." She said.

"So you enjoyed the live music?" he asked her. "Even though it wasn't a named 'group'?" he asked.

"I went to see Taylor Swift last year in Montreal and I loved her concert!" she exclaimed, then she asked him coyly "Do you like live music Gil?"

"I do." He admitted. "I often wonder though Josie…" he continued ignoring her attempt to capture him to ask her out "why we don't have our cheer squad dance to live music?" he asked her.

"Oh." She said. "well we don't have a band like that Gil." She told him.

"What about the school band?" he asked her.

"Our school band?" she asked him.

"Sure." He confirmed

"Oh, the band is filled with nerds and geeks, they wouldn't know Taylor Swift from Selena Gomez." She objected.

Gilbert laughed and shrugged "but you do, if you directed the music the band could learn the music to your liking."

She thought for a moment before she continued "but they would need the music to it right? They don't have that."

Gilbert nodded and said "but you're head cheerleader, are you telling me you have no way of fundraising for the band so they could have this music, practice the music and give a live performance?" he asked her.

"A performance?" she asked her. "Do you think it would be?"

"Well you wouldn't just be cheering, would you?" he asked her. "It would be a performance." He said with a grin as her face changed to thinking before he added for dramatic effect "And you'd be centre stage!"

Neither Anne nor Gilbert were surprised when Josie volunteered to head the fundraisers for the school band.

Natural leader that one.

* * *

"You two do know class ended five minutes, ago don't you?" Mr Irving asked them as they sat at the back of the class continuing their work when everyone else had left the classroom.

Both Anne and Gilbert's head snapped up and looked around in a gaze. "Did you hear the bell?" Gilbert asked Anne.

Mr Irving laughed at the pair. "Are you two always like this?" he asked them.

Anne and Gilbert chuckled together and exchanged glances before their books closed and started to go in their bags.

"How are you two enjoying student council, you're a month into term now?" He asked them.

"Oh, lots of fun." Gilbert smiled.

"And it looks like we're going head to head for the Avery Scholarship." Anne nudged Gilbert to which he chuckled.

"I'm curious, won't it get in the way of your relationship." he asked them, "If one of you wins it and then the other goes off to college won't it cause a rift between you?" he asked.

Both blushed and laughed it off "No, we…" Anne trailed.

"We're not…" Gilbert said shaking his head.

"Oh." Mr Irving said seemly was surprised "sorry I just assumed." said he confused "just seemed natural."

Anne swallowed heavily while Gilbert spoke "as for our friendship, it seems to thrive on competition. Grades, knowledge and scholarships." He smiled.

"We work together study together swap notes." She continued.

"Just to make sure the other has a fighting chance." Gilbert added.

"Then see who wins." Anne smiled at him.

Mr Irving looked at the two and thought it was strange how they couldn't see the spark between them.

It was then there was a knock at the door, a boy of about ten years old came in the room and looked curiously at Anne and Gilbert. Both Anne and Gilbert were almost taken aback by the striking similarities he had to Mr Irving. The boy was tall for his age with eyes which spoke of intrigue and in search for the answers. His hair was mousy brown and he seemed very tanned for the beginning of October.

"Who are they?" he asked Mr Irving.

"Don't be rude Paul." Mr Irving said shaking his head. "Paul, this is Anne and Gilbert, they are two of my senior students this year."

"Hello Paul." Anne smiled. "How old are you?" she asked him.

"I'm ten." He told her. "But I'll be eleven in December." He defended.

"I'll be eighteen in ten days." Gilbert told the boy.

"Is that true?" Anne asked him.

"How come you don't know your boyfriend's birthday?" Paul asked Anne before she could answer he said "The other boys at school say its important to know your girlfriend's birthday."

"Paul!" Mr Irving warned as he was packing away his books and closing his bag.

"Do you have a girlfriend Paul?" Gilbert asked him with a cheeky grin.

"No." he said with a heavy sigh. "All the other boys say that girls don't like a wuss."

Mr Irving looked up and started walking towards the door looking at the boy worried.

"What makes you a wuss?" Anne asked him.

"I like poetry." He shrugged.

"That doesn't make you a wuss!" Anne exclaimed.

"It doesn't?" he asked looking directly at Gilbert.

"Let me tell you a secret." Gilbert said with a smile "The girl worth getting, will love the fact that you love poetry."

Mr Irving smiled watching them for the moment they were all sharing.

"Really?" Paul asked his eyes widening. He turned to Anne. "She dwelt among the untrodden ways, Beside the springs of Dove, A Maid whom there were none to praise, And very few to love:"

Anne looked at him amazed "That's Wordsworth!"

"Yeah, he's my favourite!" Paul said with a smile to her. "So, will you be my girlfriend?" he asked her. "All the boys will be jealous if I have a girlfriend like you?"

Anne giggled sweetly "You're very charming, but I think I'm a little old for you yet Paul." She told him.

The boy shrugged.

"Come on Paul, let's go home." Mr Irving called him by the door.

"Coming Dad." The boy said, to which both Anne and Gilbert's face looked amazed into space. "Pleased to meet you." Paul told them both before exiting the room.

Gilbert looked to Anne the shock still on his face. "Mr Irving is Paul's dad?"

Anne shook her head. "But Mr Irving can't be older than thirty!"

"He was a very young dad." He whispered looking blankly at the door.

"Wow." Anne said quietly.

"Yeah wow!" Gilbert agreed.

"But, Mr Irving doesn't have a wedding ring on his finger." Anne said quietly.

Gilbert chuckled "well you know people don't always wait for marriage nowadays Anne." He said with a grin to her.

Anne shoved him before they stood and she chuckled with him "No, what I mean is, do you think he's a single dad? And if he is where's Paul's mother?"

Gilbert sighed and let her go through the door first. "You're trying to solve it again Anne." He said shaking his head.

"Come on!" Anne exclaimed "aren't you curious?" she asked him.

"Of course, I am!" Gilbert exclaimed, "but it's none of our business."


	13. AOA Chapter 5

**Hi All!**

 **Well this has been my story of the week! I've had a few new followers and reviewers thank you all so much! I don't always get the chance to write back but I do appreciate the feed back.**

 **I have really loved doing this one and updating it is always hard because I am a huge fan of Green Gables Fables and what I didn't want was a block sort of transfer of their story into mine. So I've had to keep it quite different, obviously there are similarities, plot etc, but as well I'm trying to bring in characters which are normally missed out in condensing versions (such as GGF and even the masterpiece of Sullivan's and I do love that one no one and nothing can replace it) but by missing those characters it actually shapes the story very differently and by keeping them in and making them up to date its shaping the story rather in a fun and different direction to the Anne that we love on screen.**

 **A lot of you commented on bringing in Miss Lewis (Or Miss Lavender as she was known in the books, I actually had to go away and double check her last name so I could write it into the story) and Mr Irving (Both Stephen and Paul!) Its not just them as you'll see here!**

 **It is nice for Anne and Gilbert to be friends in these AOA chapters, because it says in the books they became good friends and it doesn't really show it they just went from being sorry for their past behavior to being "best friends" and we see a lot of sentimental moments but not the friendship, and I suppose again its within the constrains of what she was probably expected to write and Gilbert never (even when they were married) could be counted as a 'main character' in the books, yet everyone who reads the books comes to the same conclusion, that he should be. I know the story is on Anne, but you'd think her husband would feature more in her life then Montgomery was allowed to write!**

 **Anyway enough rambling hope you all enjoy!**

 **love Carrots x**

* * *

Anne came in from school her schoolbag thrown on the floor next to her she flopped onto the sofa.

"Marilla Cuthbert you can't be serious!?" Demanded Mrs Lynde speaking to Marilla as they walked through the house.

"I don't need your opinion Rachel." She said sternly as they walked into the living room where Anne in interest looked up. "Oh Anne your school bag!" Marilla said to her.

"Sorry." Anne muttered as she picked up the bag.

"I seem to remember you thinking keeping Anne was a bad idea and look how well that turned out." Marilla said back to Rachel.

Anne said proudly for a moment having no idea what they were talking about for a moment but basking in the glory of being a poster child.

"That was a fluke!" Rachel demanded before Anne sat deflated. "This time you know what you're getting into and you're doing it voluntarily!"

"Doing what?" Anne asked.

"Plus, Anne was already grown, you've had to do very little with her, a few tweaks here nor there these children's characters are yet to be determined!" Mrs Lynde continued.

"A distant cousin has died and left two children, I'm considering taking them on." Marilla said.

"The state can take care of them Marilla." Rachel objected.

"No!" Anne objected suddenly.

"Oh and now she'll have her two cent. You turned out just fine."

"You think that's down to the state?!" Anne objected. "You don't know what it was like!"

"It did you no harm." Rachel said offhandedly.

"It did me no harm you can see!" Anne said. "Oh Marilla you can't, you can't let them get lost in the system, they are vulnerable…"

"They'll be protected!" Rachel continued.

"Rachel stop!" Marilla warned her friend looking at Anne's face. "Anne look at me." She whispered to her as Anne looked at her tears in her eyes. "I won't let that happen to them." She said to Anne.

"Gracious child!" Rachel said "you're shaking!"

Marilla held Anne's hand "I was going up to meet them on Saturday, see if our personalities agreed with each other. I know it is Saturday you normally spend that time with Diana and Gilbert…"

"I'll whatsapp them and cancel our plans" Anne said "they'll be fine. Can I come too?" she asked Marilla.

Marilla smiled then said dryly "I never thought you'd ask."

* * *

"Happy Birthday!" Anne exclaimed coming up behind him smiling as he turned around. His grin widened as he saw it was her and he went to shut his locker. "No, don't shut that." She said taking her bag off her back and starting to zip it down "here." She said handing him a rather heavy wrapped present.  
"You didn't have to do this!" he exclaimed surprised. "Anne! Thank you!" he said , his voice genuinely grateful.

"You haven't opened it yet!" Anne exclaimed, he grinned at her and opened the package up.

"Anne!" he exclaimed holding the new books in hand "Lord of the rings?! All of them!?" he asked her. He looked at the books more carefully "Hardback!" he exclaimed.

"I saw your paperback version the other week when we went up to your room to study, and well, it wasn't in one piece, I figured you liked it so I thought you'd appreciate the hardback."

"Thank you!" he exclaimed with a smile to her putting an arm around her they side hugged briefly.

Which is when Josie walked by with Charlie not far behind "Urgh books?!" she exclaimed. "why don't you just get it on a kindle or whatever?" she asked them.

"You can't compare a book to the kindle." Anne defended.

"Well there's a time and place for them Anne." Gilbert said with a knowing smile. "Holidays? No room in backpack for ten books, that's okay…"

"Oh no! You don't get to feel the weight of the book in the hand, like the weight of the plot, and the pages, the smell of the book and the sound the paper make when you turn the page, you can't tell me you can get that from a tablet!" Anne exclaimed.

"I'm just saying there's advantages, no more sore shoulders from carrying all those books." He smiled knowing it would make her rise.

"Okay fine, obvious you don't appreciate these…" she said playfully taking the books from him.

"Noooo!" He objected hugging the books to his chest. "Not my Lord of the rings books!" he exclaimed. "Precious!" his best Gollum impression in place. Anne laughed as he put the books in his locker and shut the door before he put his arm around the back of her neck and held her in a playful headlock for a moment before she laughed he messed her hair then smiled down at her fondly "Thanks." he whispered to her letting her go they smiled together as they walked down the corridor together.

* * *

Marilla and Anne came off the train in Charlottetown. "The twins are living here with a family, fostered until they could find them somewhere permeant." Marilla told Anne.

"When I lived with the Hammonds, Mrs Hammond had three sets of twins. She said they were double trouble, you think she wouldn't just learn not to try again for babies but sure enough she found out she was pregnant with a third set of twins when I was living with them." Anne said with a shake of the head, "I helped take care of them, and oh I loved twins." Anne said with a smile "they were quite different from the double trouble Mrs Hammond said they were, although I am well aware that children behave differently for their parents then they do other people, I saw that too. But then Mrs Hammond was always screaming when she had no real need to."

"These twins are quite different from the other if the letter is anything to go by."

"You said a girl and a boy?" Anne asked Marilla.

"That's right." Marilla agreed. "David and Theodora."

"Good solid names." Anne smiled. "How old are they?"

"Ten." Marilla confirmed.

"Oh that's a good age!" Anne exclaimed.

Marilla simply shook her head.

They approached the house and knocked on the door. "Mrs Smith?" Marilla asked and the women nodded.

"You must be Miss Cuthbert." She said with a smile. "Here to meet the twins?" she asked.

"That's right." Marilla confirmed. "This is Anne I adopted her last year."

"Oh then you'll be a kind of sister to them." Mrs Smith smiled. "Come with me." She said kindly to them as she led them into her front room. "Theodora." Mrs Smith said to a young girl who sat in the front room reading a book. Her back was straight her posture as if in an old book for an ten year old girl. She looked up without expression on her face. Nor happy not sad, her skin pale with big blue eyes and brown hair she was a striking beauty even for ten. "This is Miss Cuthbert and Anne."

The girl stood up "Pleased to meet you." She said barely above a whisper but didn't look up at them at all..

"Where's David?" Mrs Smith asked her.

"I.." she stuttered. "I don't know Mrs Smith." She said quietly. "I think he's in the garden." She said softly.

"Little good he'll do out there, go and get him then." Mrs Smith told Theodora who obediently walked out to find her brother. Mrs Smith shook her head "You'll never find two children less alike for siblings and twins."

"Is David very different?" Anne asked.

"Oh yes." Mrs Smith said. "David is…" she started but was interrupted by a high-level screech then scream coming from the back garden. All three of them turned and walked quickly though the house towards the scream, to find what was formally the perfectly pressed girl and another child Anne and Marilla only assumed to be David sitting black out in a puddle of mud. His hair was the opposite to his sisters a dirty blonde in colour (though to be fair they couldn't tell at the present time if it was the colour or because of the mud) his eyes wide and brown.

"David Keith!" Mrs Smith exclaimed. "explain yourself."

"I was only playing in the mud and I decided to scare Thea by being a mud monster, she slipped," David continued "and so I was only telling her its nothing to be scared of, so I got in to make her less scared." David defended.

Marilla looked to Anne who was struggling to keep a straight face, Marilla rolled her eyes.

"Who are they?" David asked.

"Well you're not in any state to be introduced now, this is Miss Cuthbert, she's meant to be giving you a possible home, she won't want to now!"

"Oh, I don't know about that, I know another girl who could get herself into pickles too." She said with a grin to Anne.

"Hello David." Anne said with a smile to him trying to put her hand out to shake it.

"I don't want no girls hand." He objected. "Girls have got the lurgy. I don't want to catch it!" he told her.

"David!" Mrs Smith said.

"No that's alright." Anne said quickly pulling back her hand. "Duly noted." She looked at him and said "Was your mud monster the one with two heads?" she asked David.

He looked in shock that someone older then himself was taking him seriously. "Have you met a two-headed monster?"

"I did once though it was a while ago he told me that they were becoming more and more rare."

"Ah no!" David exclaimed. "Not this one!" he said.

Mrs Smith finally chirped in "you better go and get cleaned up David, so Miss Cuthbert and Anne don't mistake you as a monster. You too Thea," Mrs Smith added, "You can use the en-suite bathroom in my bedroom if you like."

* * *

"Do you think Marilla will adopt them?" Diana asked Anne the next day while the foursome headed into school together on the Monday morning.

"Honestly…" Anne said with a shrug "I really don't know." She finished sadly. "I can only wish she will."

Diana turned to Fred and started talking to him as Anne went quiet walking for a good five minutes without saying a word to Gilbert. "You know, not every kid in the system gets lost." Gilbert tried.

"No," She admitted "I guess not." She sighed "but the older you are the less likely people want you." She said quietly. "I was already three when… people want cute little babies, not three-year olds."

"That's insane." Gilbert said then knowingly said "I could take a guess and say you were a cute three-year-old."

"Like you'd know!" she told him slapping him playfully on his arm.

* * *

Anne and Gilbert were busy studying when Marilla brought the twins home.

"I remember you." David said to Anne "You believed in my mud monster."

"Yes I did, and my name is Anne, remember? We were introduced that day."

"Yeah Anne." He agreed. "Is this your boyfriend?" he asked her.

"No David." Anne told him rolling her eyes at yet again her and Gilbert were romantic partners. "He is my best friend though."

"I told you its Davy." He said with a sigh to Anne. "It feels better being called that." He looked to Gilbert in surprise "Your best friend is a _girl_?" he asked Gilbert. "I'd thought you wouldn't care for my mud monster if I'm honest." He said inspecting Gilbert again. "Do you play football?" he asked.

"Yes." Gilbert confirmed "I'm captain of my football team."

"Really are they any good?" David asked.

"Best one in the county." Gilbert said with a smile. "I'm Gilbert."

"I've Davy Keith and that's Thea, my sister." He said pointing at the quiet girl who coward at the spotlight being on her. "Can you play football with me too Gilbert." He then leaned over and whispered to Gilbert "It'll get you away from the pretense of enjoying studying."

Gilbert chuckled and then said to him "But I do."

Davy nodded "That's good!" he exclaimed. "You almost had me believing it." To which Gilbert and Anne both openly laughed at.

Marilla finally trailed behind them, telling the boy "Go up the stairs two rooms immediately on your left will be yours and Theodora's." She informed them. "You may pick who gets which one. Off you go." She said sitting down in the rocking chair.

"How was the journey?" Anne asked Marilla whose eyes rolled.

"He's got ants in his pants that boy." To which she got a laugh from both Anne and Gilbert. "The bus was throwing him back and forth I was worried he would break his neck or tumble down the bus. I didn't know what to do so I tried to discipline him, threatened to whip him at one point…" to which Anne looked up distressed at Marilla "And don't look at me like that young lady, you know I wouldn't. And you know what he did? He climbed into my lap, flung his arms about my neck and gave me a bear-like hug and told me 'I don't believe you mean it,'" she shook her head "and then he grabbed my cheeks as if I were a child and said 'You don't LOOK like a lady who'd whip a little boy just because he couldn't keep still. Didn't you find it awful hard to keep still when you were only 's old as me?"

To which both Anne and Gilbert laughed.

"'No,' I told him. 'I always kept still when I was told,'" said Marilla, Anne could tell from her tone she had tried to speak sternly, albeit Anne knew Marilla would have been caving under David's impulsive caresses.

" _'Well, I s'pose that was 'cause you was a **girl** ,' he said. You WAS a girl once, I s'pose, though it's awful funny to think of it. Thea can sit still . . . but there ain't much fun in it I don't think. Seems to me it must be slow to be a girl. Here, Thea, let me liven you up a bit_.' He tells her." Marilla continued her narrative, "Turns out his method of "livening up" was to grasp Theodora's curls in his fingers and give them a tug. Theodora's shrieked and then cried." Marilla's eyes rolled. "Were you as lively as this at his age?" Marilla asked Gilbert.

"I dare say I was." He said with a chuckle.

"His age!" Anne exclaimed, "try last year!"

"I could sit still! Gilbert defended.

"Carrots?!" Anne exclaimed by way of pointing out he had tugged at her hair.

"That was…" he trailed for a moment as his pen came up in front of him between them, him pointing it playfully at her "…a moment of desperation."

Anne grabbed the end of the pen closest to her, her face flushed her lips desperately trying not to smile "Oh you were desperate to meet me?!" She said her eyebrows raising in sync with his, his lips fighting the same smile reflecting back at her their eyes playing.

" _Eager_ , I was eager to meet you." He said quietly blushing back from the intimacy. "He will grow out of it." Gilbert said with a blushing smile to Marilla.

Marilla let out a sigh the look on her face fading from the interaction between Anne and Gilbert "He could use a good example of a man in his life." She said carefully.

"Well I don't know about good," Gilbert said to Marilla "but I won't mind, I'm already around he won't see me as a threat."

"Its worth a shot." Marilla said with a sigh, "I better go and check they've found their rooms okay." She said leaving the two to study again.

* * *

Anne and Gilbert took a walk back to Blythe farm that night, realistically without the snow Blythe Farm was less than a mile away from Green Gables. As the two headed off there was an overcast of cloud but nothing which worried Anne enough to take a jacket.

The two friends chatted along the way about this and that, about the twins and David's insistence of being a 'Davy' now he was in Avonlea.

"I am glad though Gilbert, that you've agreed to be Davy's friend, he's a little rough round the edges but he's pure gold really." Anne said with a smile as they arrived at the veranda of the old farm house.

"It should be fun, I doubt at that age many people saw any gold in me."

"Don't be silly." Anne laughed as Mrs Blythe came out and they sat down

"Hello Anne honey." She said with a smile then she kissed her son's curls.

"Hello Mrs Blythe." She said with a smile.

"How are the twins settling in?" she asked Anne.

"As well as can be expected." Anne admitted. "We were just talking about the boy, Davy."

"He could be my younger brother." Gilbert said with a grin to his mother "the way he behaves."

"Was Gilbert really so lively?" Anne asked.

"Barely able to keep him down." Mrs Blythe laughed. "We kept him going with farm work though."

"That's right you said you helped around the farm." Anne said remembering what Gilbert told her.

"Yeah." He said with a smile. "Up at the crack of dawn and milking the cows bailing the hay, even before I went to school."

"I'll go and get you some cookies for your journey home Anne." Mrs Blythe smiled.

"No Mrs Blythe…" she started. Gilbert nudged her and shook his head to Anne.

"Tell you what, take home some carrot cake for the twins, it has on my special frosting." She called as she went in the house. To which Gilbert grinned shaking his head.

"I've told you before about that." He said with a grin to Anne.

"I keep forgetting." Anne smiled. "Your mom is a real mom." Anne said with a smile rubbing her arms a little.

"Cold?" Gilbert asked her.

"Just a little." She admitted.

He chivalrously took his Leatherman's jacket off. "No Gil, you don't need to…" she started but the jacket came around her.

"Don't be silly. Its my house, I have a dozen other jumpers upstairs." He said coming back round her and looking at her.

The Leatherman's jacket on him was a slimline fit jacket with a hoodie. The school colours green and gold played on Anne's skin and hair. The green brought out not only the titan tints in her hair but the green specks which perplexed him. The gold contrasted with the paleness of her skin but also brought out some golden tone in her hair the sight of which caught Gilbert off guard and he gasped.

"what's wrong?" she asked him.

"No n-nothing." He said quietly and he sat on the chair behind him. "You suit that jacket better than me." He finished.

"Oh." She said with a slight blush. "Thanks." She then laughed "Pity they personalized it with your last name I could have stolen it from you."

He laughed back and blushed slightly but he didn't object an hour later as she left with the carrot cake and his jacket still on her back.


	14. AOA Chapter 6

**Just a shout out to all you wonderful people!**

 **Everyone: She has his jacket! Thing is she keeps it an awful long time too! Isn't ironic? One day she will be Blythe too?!**

 **Battywattywoo: That's quite the compliment! Thank you very much!**

 **CatieGirl: As soon as I knew I wasn going past the Anne of Green Gables point, I knew I wanted Davy and Dora in it. 100% just like when I get there in Anne of the Island Phil will be there, there are these extremely rich characters who enhance Anne's learning curve who she learns so much from and in most credible adaptations the characters are swept over, their importance is lost and I don't know about you I miss them, especially Phil!**

 **You guys are awesome!**

 **Some of you will notice I am early in uploading this week. Its the last week of school here in the UK and although Tuesdays are my busy days as it is I'm anticipating I'll be extra tired and extra slow tomorrow so thought if I uploaded now since everything is completed it would save me getting it up tomorrow!**

 **love you all**

 **Carrots x**

* * *

"Hey!" Gilbert shouted from his car seeing Anne walking to school.

"Hey Gil." She said with a smile.

"Do you want a ride?" he asked her. "I want to talk to you before we get in to school."

"Sure." She agreed. He pulled over and she got in the car and put on her seatbeat. "Thanks, Diana stayed at Fred's last night." Anne admitted.

"Oh?!" Gilbert said with a flirting wiggle of the eyebrows.

"Oh Gil!" she exclaimed disgusted "Ugh! I didn't even think of that!" to which he burst out laughing

"Hey, this isn't the 19th century." Gilbert said with a grin "they're seventeen eighteen years old, what do you expect."

"Not that." She muttered.

"Don't be silly." Gilbert said with a grin to her "if a boy ever admitted he was head over heels for you it wouldn't be long before you were sexually active too."

"Goes to show how well you know me." She muttered under her breath.

He sighed heavily thinking that was one barrier not to be messed with in regards to Anne, maybe one day they could together, but that day certainly wouldn't be any day soon. "Hey wanna know why I pulled you in here?" he asked her.

"Go on then." She said to him.

"My dad was called cancer free one year ago today." He said with a proud smile.

Anne looked up and at him with a wide grin "Oh Gil!" she exclaimed. "That's wonderful!" she said to him.

"Yeah, I like to think it is." He said with a grin to her. She looked away thoughtfully "hey what's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing, just…" she said with a blush "this time last year I didn't even know you yet, you didn't come back to school until…" she trailed.

"The week after, yeah I know." He agreed.

"Its weird that's all." She said.

"I know, its been quite a year." He admitted. He looked at her then the road again. "I wouldn't change it." He told her. "Not for the world." He said.

"Even us not talking for so long?" she asked.

"Even that, I think it made me want to understand you better." He admitted.

She blushed slightly "Thanks." She laughed. "I can't believe we were well into November by the time you came back."

"I'm just glad I did." He said turning into the parking lot.

* * *

"Remind me again why are we doing this?" Charlie exclaimed as they were in an old cupboard in the school.

"Because we want to find out more about the class of 2006, they buried that time capsule to be brought up in ten years, now last year's student council had no idea about it so this year we're making up for it and we're seeing if we can find any of the class before we open it, hopefully they might like the honours." Gilbert said with a grin to Charlie.

"And anyway, it does no harm to know your history Charlie." Anne said with a grin to the Sloaneness of Charlie.

"So says the girl who has none." Charlie objected "And I mean no disrespect by that."

"Which is why I think knowing it is important, and anyway this summer with Gilbert I got to know a little history of myself and all the wiser I am for it."

"Ah!" Gilbert exclaimed happily "Here it is!" he exclaimed picking out the book "Class of 2006!" with it said the three made their way out the storage cupboard in the library and sat at the desks close by.

"Oh I have chills!" Anne exclaimed as she looked at the closed book. "Can't you feel the history!"

"Its ten years old!" Charlie said with a laugh "Its hardly history."

"Marc Potvin, died in 2006." Gilbert remarked. "and Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion"

"Who?" Anne asked.

"They were ice hockey players." Gilbert said. "I was six and devastated, I thought ice hockey players lived forever!"

Anne gave a sympathetic 'aww'.

"Ice Hockey players?" Charlie asked confused. "I didn't know you liked Ice Hockey."

Gilbert blushed at Anne's confusion, it had been one of the first things he told her about himself, how he had loved Ice Hockey, it had been that year he had tried out for the Ice Hockey team. Anne faithfully didn't say anything but seemed genuinely touched it was part of himself which he had only ever really shared with her.

"With that I'm off, I said I would meet Josie after cheerleading practice. I'm glad we found it all the same Gilbert." Charlie said before he exited the library.

Gilbert opened the book and looked at the pictures. There stood a picture of the entire year group with teachers and everyone in their sports and clubs uniforms.

"Wow! Anne grinned. "Big year group." She said with a smile to Gilbert.

"Yeah." Gilbert agreed. He turned the page to find the first team picture the cheer squad. They turned the page to find the band then again to the football team. They at first didn't pay attention to the people in the pictures and didn't look at names until they came across the individual pictures.

"Ah look a Pye, a Sloane… Andrews…" A few giggles at fashions. When Anne stopped suddenly at one of the name. "Stephen Irving!" She exclaimed and looked closer "Mr Irving came here?!" she said pointing at the picture and looking closer.

"Well he hasn't changed a bit!" Gilbert said amazed. "Look at his activities, Captain of the football team, the debate team…"

"Sounds like your best friend." Anne said with a smile. "He's even younger a dad then we thought…"

"Paul's mother could be in here." Gilbert observed before he took a deep breath of shock.

"what?" Anne asked him before his index finger pointed to another picture. Anne looked and an equally surprised look came across her face. "Lavender Lewis!" she exclaimed quietly. " _Miss_ Lewis!"

They looked to each other in shock before Anne read shakenly "Debate team,… then they definitely knew each other then." Anne stood up with the book in hand. "Come on…" She told him.

"Anne no!" He objected. "We can't just march in there and demand an answer based on what we think we do and don't know."

"I'm not." She said as if to convince herself of her convictions as well as Gilbert. "At very least they deserve to know about the time capsule." She justified. "Come on!"

* * *

"Anne Gilbert!" Miss Lewis exclaimed happily seeing her two best students coming though her classroom door. "How can I help you?"

"Did you come here?" Anne asked her.

"Oh." Miss Lewis said surprised at the question. "Well yes, I did class of…"

"2006, yes we know." Anne interrupted. "Your class buried a time capsule." She said very matter of fact and business like.

"Yes, we did." She confirmed.

"Well last year's student council forgot about it but we were looking through the history of the student council notes and we saw reference to it, dug deeper and found where it was, we dug it up but we haven't opened it." Anne said with a smile putting the tin in front of her teacher.

Miss Lewis said nothing but nodded.

"We thought you should know, maybe you'd like to get some old friends together." Gilbert said with a smile. "Come on An-" he started and held her gently on her forearm before Anne exclaimed

"You knew Mr Irving!"

Miss Lewis looked literally taken aback.

"Anne we agreed on the way over here not to say anything." Gilbert said quietly to her.

"We found your yearbook!" she said bringing it out of her bag and showing her it, "You were both in debate team which means you knew each other right?" Anne asked her. Miss Lewis literally looked shell shocked as Anne brought eh year book to her showing her it.

"How far through did you get?" Miss Lewis asked Anne.

"Only to the individual pictures." Gilbert said "Come on Anne we don't need to bother Miss Lewis." He said quietly. They were part way up the classroom before she spoke.

"It was his idea." She said quietly. Her hand over the time capsule. Anne and Gilbert both turned to look at her as she spoke as she did she looked like she might cry "Stephen's" she said. "The time capsule was Stephen's idea." She said softly. She opened the pages as Anne and Gilbert came closer to see class photos taken, Both Anne and Gilbert noting wherever one was the other wasn't far away. "We were like you, best friends I suppose." She said with a shrug "only he had a girlfriend." She said with a sigh. "Angela Thompson." She said pointing at the girl in some of the pictures, "Football team captain and head cheerleader, they were the picture-perfect couple." She shrugged. She continued to flick through the pictures, any with them working showed Miss Lewis and Mr Irving together working often smiling and laughing together and then any posed pictures showed Mr Irving with the unknown cheerleader to them. "They broke up weeks before prom." Miss Lewis continued. "He came to me claiming the whole time he had a crush on me and wanted to take me to senior prom." She sighed "what was I going to say?" she said with a laugh "My best friend the cutest boy in the whole school had noticed me." She opened the book to a picture of them together "He told me he loved me and he wanted to be with me, that we were a couple and nothing would ever separate us. I thought we'd be together forever." She said the tears now spilling from her eyes "the next day, after prom, he wasn't at school, I tried e-mailing calling going to his house, nothing. No one knew what happened to him… and Angela." She sighed as she looked at two very shocked students. "I didn't see him again until the first day of school this year." She wiped her eyes and shrugged. "Some things aren't meant to be." She whispered.

"Sorry Miss Lewis." Anne said quietly before her and went into Gilbert's and he led her gently out into the corridor.

* * *

Neither one of the stopped until they were clear of the building and Anne finally whispered. "I can't believe it." Anne whispered. "I can't believe the Mr Irving who's been teaching us all this time could treat Miss Lewis like that!" Anne exclaimed.

"Anne…" Gilbert reprimanded.

"No! This is complicated!" Anne objected. "He used her."

"I don't think he did." Gilbert admitted. "You remember when Paul said he was born?"

"December." Anne said trying to connect the dots.

"December 2006." He said. "which means conception date could be no later than mid-March meaning he was still in a relationship with that cheerleading girl."

"Paul's mother?" Anne questioned.

"Which means they broke up probably before the cheerleading girl knew she was pregnant."

Anne sat on a nearby bench then looked up at Gilbert "Do you think Miss Lewis knows about Paul?" she asked

Gilbert to which he shook his head. "No, No I don't." he said quietly sitting beside her. "I think this is way more complicated than we anticipated."

"What's more complicated?" They heard a voice say to them from one side, both Anne and Gilbert looked to the source to see Paul Irving standing looking quizzically at them.

"Paul?" Anne said in surprise. "Nothing just, grown up relationships." She told him.

"I hate that." Paul said sitting beside them on the bench. "Everyone says that when they don't' want kids to know something bad." He sighed.

"Honestly Paul, I don't think you want to wrap your head around this one." Gilbert said with a smile to him. He looked then asked "Do you come back here every day after school for your dad?"

Paul nodded "Yeah, I do." He acknowledged. "There's just me and dad."

Both Anne and Gilbert were momentarily mute before Gilbert found a voice for them "Do you have any homework Paul?" he asked him.

"Yeah tons." He said with a grin going into his school bag and bringing out his own Maths book. "I don't suppose you two will help me will you?" he asked them.

"Sure." Anne agreed nodding.

"Here, "Gilbert offered standing, "sit between us then you can benefit from both of our expertise."

It was ten minutes later Mr Irving came out to see Paul sitting between his two favourite students. He chuckled and stood in front of them.

"Oh hey dad." Paul said with a smile as he looked up.

"Hey yourself." He said smiling. "Fancy yourself a high school student already?"

"Anne and Gilbert were just helping with my homework." Paul told his father.

"More like supervising he didn't need our help." Anne admitted.

"That's good to hear." He said with a smile "Thank you Anne and Gilbert." Mr Irving said. "Come on Paul, pack your work away, we'll do it when we get home."

"Aww but dad!" Paul objected.

"I'm sure Anne and Gilbert could be getting on with things other than babysitting you." Mr Irving said.

"Oh no." Anne said with a laugh. "Your Paul is a little gentleman!" Anne exclaimed.

"Now will you go out with me?" Paul asked her to which Mr Irving exclaimed his name and Anne laugh softly.

"I'm afraid I'm still a little old for you." Anne admitted.

"Aw, can you marry dad then, he's only a little bit older than me and then you can be my mother!" he exclaimed.

Mr Irvings mouth dropped and his face turned a beetroot red.

"I'm afraid that won't do either, I'm a little too young for him." She said with a laugh to Paul "Plus I'd be doing myself out of an excellent English teacher." She smiled to Paul. "But I will settle with being your friend, and your dad's pupil." Anne said with a smile to him putting her hand out for him to shake "deal?" she asked.

Paul ignored the hand and threw himself into Anne's arms. "Oh, promise me, promise me we'll be friends forever?"

Gilbert glanced up at Mr Irving and saw the look of guilt and sadness on Mr Irving's face.

"We'll see." Anne told him.

"Hey buddy." Mr Irving said to him "How about checking out the cent pot in the car, let's see if we have enough for a drive thru?" he asked his son.

"Yes!" he exclaimed jumping up and running to the car.

Mr Irving stood in front of his students for a moment. "I'm sorry for Paul." He told them both.

"Oh don't be, he's very sweet." Anne admitted.

"And a very young ten-year-old." Mr Irving told them. "He's not yet grasped a seventeen-year-old and…"

"No really Mr Irving there's no offense taken, I'm flattered by the little man." Anne said.

"You know Mr Irving, we wouldn't mind, that's to say I wouldn't mind it, I don't know about Anne, but I wouldn't mind taking Paul off your hands, if you need the extra time?" Gilbert offered.

"Yes!" Anne exclaimed. "Oh we can babysit him!" Anne agreed, then she looked at Gilbert "That's really sweet Gil."

Mr Irving smiled. "That is very sweet, thank you."

"Gil has a football game after school next week." Anne said. "Can I take Paul?" she asked Mr Irving.

"Oh." Mr Irving said. "Ar-Are you sure?" Mr Irving said.

"Yes." Anne said. "I'm already taking Davy did I tell you Marilla has adopted some twins and the boy is just a live wire!"

"Oh Davy Keith?" Mr Irving asked. "I didn't recognise the connection, Paul has mentioned him."

"Oh dear." Anne said.

"No it… he finds him funny." Mr Irving admitted.

"Dad!" They heard Paul shout from the car.

"Only, not everyone knows I have a son." Mr Irving admitted. "I'm not ashamed of him just, its quite a sensitive…"

"That's okay, I'll introduce him as a friend of Davy's from school." Anne suggested.

"And I'll drive us all back after the game." Gilbert offered. "It'll be fun."

Mr Irving seemed genuinely touched. "I'm not sure what to say." He admitted. "I don't give up my son to other people very easily…" he trailed. "But, I'm sure I can trust you with him." He blushed. They could see he was struggling with it. "Sure, yes, thank you." He said quietly.

"I best be off." Mr Irving said. "We can arrange particulars later. If that's okay?"

"Sure." Anne nodded.

Mr Irving walked away and Anne and Gilbert looked at each other with a heavy sigh to each other, they were only just starting to realise the weigh Mr Irving carried with him.


	15. AOA Chapter 7

"David, I ran you a bath, you need to get in the bath, you're a sight to be seen and I want it fixed." There was again no response. "David?!"

"Yes!" he called looking down again at the video game in his hand.

Marilla shook her head before she turned to Anne. "What were you saying?" she asked her.

"Irving, do you recognise the name?" she asked Marilla.

"If memory serves me correct the Irvings used to live just on the outskirts of Avonlea. Some called them proud but their son Stephen was always polite, opening doors for the ladies even as folk a good twenty years older than him." Marilla sighed. "David!" she tried again.

"And he dated a cheerleader in high school?" Anne asked.

"I don't know the ins and outs of a boy twenty-five years younger than me, do I?" she commented to Anne.

"No, I don't suppose you do." Anne sighed.

"He didn't stay around after his class graduated, he disappeared." Mrs Lynde commented.

"And his girlfriend?" she questioned. "Angela Thompson?".

"I don't know Anne, I think if I'm right she dropped out of college Freshman year came back and lived with her parents for a couple of years, they all moved away years ago." Marilla shrugged. "David!" Marilla called.

"I'm going!" he called.

"And the Irvings?" Anne asked.

"They owned the big house on Pontop Hill, they rented it for years, I know they moved back over the summer, their son I think has a small flat on Westside Street." Mrs Lynde said knowingly. "So that must be his brother he lets sleep over in the flat with him." Mrs Lynde said with a satisfactory nod.

Anne controlled her face all she could. Mr Irving did say it was delicate and not everyone knew Paul was his son, many (logically) concluded the boy was his brother not his son.

"David!" Marilla said finally exasperated. "Get off that computer game now!" She commanded. "March up those stairs and get in that bath!"

This time Davy did as he was commanded. Coming through the kitchen and marching up the stairs. "I'll be up to wash behind your ears in a moment." She told David as he walked past.

"Why are you so interested?" Mrs Lynde asked her.

"Mr Irving is our English teacher that's all." Anne admitted.

"Well he was a smart lad from what our Michael told me from school." Mrs Lynde informed her as Marilla left the kitchen and went upstairs after David "You ought to be well educated if that's your concern."

Anne sighed. It really wasn't her concern but she was happy to let Mrs Lynde think that.

For some reason, she was particularly protective over Paul Mr Irving and Miss Lewis.

Her thoughts were interrupted with a screech from the direction of the bathroom then an up roaring of laughter from Marilla. So, confused were both Anne and Mrs Lynde that they went to the upstairs family bathroom to find out what the cause was of such a rumpus.

Anne was right behind Mrs Lynde when she arrived at the door and wondered what would cause Mrs Lynde to gasp as she did followed by a "David Keith!"

Anne looked in the bathroom to find David stood as directed in the bath tub head to toe in the exact clothes he wore downstairs, Anne covered her mouth trying to refrain from the giggle which was gurgling in her throat.

"You told me Marilla you said!" David exclaimed looking innocently at the three women.

"David Keith use your common-sense boy you must know Marilla meant to take your clothes off first!"

"But that's not what she said!" David tried.

"Its true," Anne said with a smile to Marilla "you said 'March up those stairs and get in that bath!'" to which Marilla was finally back on the edge of laughing "he didn't defer from his instructions one bit." Anne said with a laugh at the end.

"I suppose there's that."

Mrs Lynde rolled her eyes "The both of you there's something wrong with you!"

* * *

"Do you think Gilbert will see us Anne?" David asked Anne in excitement as they lined for the snacks for the football game.

"I rather hoped he would be paying attention to the football game David." Anne said with a smile.

"And Gilbert is a Quarterback right?" Davy said "and don't call me David it makes you sound like my mother. Its Davy."

"Gil is a quarterback." Anne said with a shake of the head. "Davy."

"Ah, quarterbacks are the best, they keep the ball Paul you know. And Anne wears Gilbert jacket, even though they aren't girlfriend and boyfriend, I can't imagine why she keeps wearing it if they aren't" Davy continued making Anne blush slightly. "Anyway the quarterbacks they get to call the snap count for the ball to enter play. Once the ball is in play, they get to have the ball off the running backs, and they scout the field for someone to throw the ball to! They zig and zag! I'm too late to get on the team this year but coach has been on reserve, and then next year I'm going to be on the team like Gilbert." Paul looked at Davy a little sceptically "Do you like football?" he asked him.

"This is my first game." Paul said. "Dad and I sometimes watch games on TV, but not very often, I don't understand it all." He opening admitted.

"Oh frack! No way!" Davy said. He shook his head and his arm around Paul's shoulder in a manly hug "Its just as well you got me then isn't it?" he said to Paul.

"Large popcorn three drinks and hot dogs please?" Anne asked at the counter.

When snacks were bought the three headed for the door into the stalls Paul while still listening to Davy talking about football walked in front of Anne and held the door open for her. Anne smiled and said "well thank you Paul, how very gentlemanly of you." She said.

There was an audible sigh from behind them Anne turned and looked at Davy. "Is being a gentleman important?" He asked her.

"Well yes!" Anne laughed. "Of course, it is Davy." She said honestly. "You wouldn't want to be a mean man, would you?" she asked him.

"Not _mean_!" he exclaimed. "Just I want to be a man's man." He said. "Like Gilbert." He said as they found their seats.

"Gilbert's a man's man." Anne observed "And he's a gentleman."

"And he plays football!" Davy exclaimed watching as the football team came on field.

The players lined up for the national anthem then as soon as it played the cheering started.

"Ay-Ay-Av-on-lea!" The cheerleaders started. "Ay-Ay-Av-on-lea!" the crowd followed. "Aaaaaayyyyyeeee!"

Anne looked over at Gilbert as the band played 'Shake it off' the cheerleaders danced along warming up the crowd, Gilbert looked to Anne and gave her a quick wink with a grin of his own and a playful eyebrow, he looked at the very loosely boned Davy on one side of Anne literally shaking it off and on the other side of Anne the complete opposite Paul who stood almost stiffly.

Gilbert's furrowed eyebrow while looking at Paul made Anne look his way. "Paul?" she asked him.

"Is it okay?" Paul asked her. "to dance?" he continued. "here?"

Anne nodded and took him by his hands dancing with him in the isle.

* * *

After the game the four of them got into Gilbert's Mini and went for fast food. Gilbert and Davy had gone for the food Anne and Paul found the seats.

"Anne?" he asked.

"Yeah?" Anne asked as they sat down.

"Is this what it would be like to have a mom and a dad?" he asked her.

"Um…" Anne trailed. "Actually…" she said quietly "I don't remember much about having a mom or a dad." She admitted.

"Oh." Paul said his shoulders going down in disappointment.

"You could ask Gilbert, he has both his mom and dad still." Anne suggested.

"Oh Anne!" Davy bounced to them. "I was just telling Gilbert the game was awesome!"

"It was." Paul agreed.

"Did you enjoy it?" Gilbert asked Paul directly.

"I don't get to go to football games very much, dad works hard and we didn't always have the mon- I mean they chance to go."

"Well football in middle school and high school are just perfect that that sort of thing." Gilbert said with a smile.

"Maybe I could ask your dad if you could come with us to every game?" Anne offered. "And you too Davy."

"Awww that'd be so cool!" Davy said his hand flying out beside him.

"Do you think he'll say yes?" Paul asked Anne.

"I think there's every chance he might even come to some of the games." Anne smiled.

* * *

Gilbert dropped off first Paul then stopped the car outside of Green Gables. "Thanks for tonight Gilbert." Davy said as he bounced out the car and ran into the house to avoid the rain.

"Here." Anne said attempting to take off the jacket. "This belongs to you." She said to him.

"Oh no, keep it, its pouring rain out there!" Gilbert objected.

"People think it makes me your girl." Anne counterargued.

"Really? I thought it was the fact we did everything together." Gilbert said with a grin.

"I'm being serious!" Anne objected.

"So am I." Gilbert said. "and people always find a way of gossiping, personally I'm just glad people don't expect me to be with Josie Pye anymore."

"So you'd rather be expected to be with me then her."

"Hey when it comes to expected girlfriends I'd rather you any day then Josie Pye!" he said with a chuckle.

"Me too." Anne laughed.

"You'd rather me then Josie?" he said with a confused look. "Not your type?" he asked.

"Not my gender." She said to him with a shake of the head. "and that would actually be the last of the problems I would have with her."

"See she is my kind of gender and that's where my problems start." He laughed. At this they both burst into laughter before Gilbert took a breath and said to her "You see, we're kindred spirits remember? It doesn't matter what other people think." He said.

Her smile faded on her lips and she whispered "Are you sure?"

He nodded before she put the jacket back on and put the hood over her head. "Thanks." She whispered. She got out the car and shut the door behind her before she ran for the veranda.

"One-day Anne." He whispered to himself. "Would it be so bad if we ended up together?" he asked the empty space, when she got to the veranda she turned and waved at him to which he waved back and started the engine. He took a deep sigh and looked over his shoulder to reverse "Well done Blythe," he reprimanded himself "aim for the impossible again!"

* * *

"So as you all know the time for the Christmas dance is now approaching and the student council and the dance committee have agreed on Hardwick House for the dance." Josie said addressing the student council. "The room there is amazing and they even have their own in-house decorations." Josie continued with a smile "which they've agreed to throw in for free." She took a sigh "some are a little, old to say the least…" she trailed.

"How about vintage?" Gilbert said with a smile to her.

"Right… vintage." She nodded. "but Anne came with me to check it out and she said it was totally workable with the theme." She said proudly. "We were thinking like a 'Frozen' theme but way more grown up, like icicles and such like." She said with a smile.

"We called it Freeze Out." Anne said.

"Tickets are ten dollars and proceeds go towards either Prom or some music for the school band." Josie informed the group.

"How's is fundraising for the band going Josie?" Charlie chirped up.

"Actually not half bad, and Gilbert was right when he said the crowds really respond well to the live music, more support more banners, and most importantly when we're standing in our uniforms and the buckets for the sheet music for the band people are donating we're coming away with heavy buckets." She smiled as she said "Did you know they already had the sheet music for James Bond!" she said with a smile.

"You like James Bond?" Anne asked her.

"I mean who wouldn't, Tall rugged handsome," she said seemingly gazing opposite her in Charlie's direction "and hello Daniel Craig, is a total babe."

Really?" Anne asked. "I prefer Roger Moore." She commented.

"Who?" Josie asked.

Anne giggled slightly shaking her head.

"Anyway," Gilbert said with the smile. "Josie and the dance committee have really work tirelessly on planning this dance, I look forward to seeing the final outcome." He said with a smile. "Is there any other business?" Gilbert asked when no one responded. "Alright, meeting adjourned until next week, I'll expect to see those tickets printed and ready to go." He said.

The student council dispersed into smaller groups and Gilbert turned to Anne. "That went well." He admitted. "Looking forward to the dance?" he asked Anne.

"Oh sure, a third wheel to Diana and Fred really is my scene." She said rolling her eyes.

"Maybe you'll get lucky…" Gilbert joked "maybe Charlie will ask you again." He said with a chuckle.

"Nooo, not Charlie." Anne said looking at him seriously.

"Oh?" Gilbert asked her.

"You don't know?" Anne asked him.

"Know what?" Gilbert asked.

"Charlie is going with Josie, he asked her weeks ago."

Gilbert's jaw dropped and looked at her amazed "No!" he said in shock. "You can't be serious."

"I am!" Anne said. "Haven't you noticed?" she asked him. "They've been flirting all year."

Gilbert was silent for a moment as he gathered his thought before he said to Anne "Well come with me?" he asked Anne.

"Sorry?" Anne said looking at him.

"Yes come with me, perfect solution, we'll have someone else to hang out with we'll have fun?" he offered.

"As friends?" She asked again as if it weren't clear in his asking.

"Partner in crime." He said with a smile.

"Okay." She agreed.

"Okay then." Gilbert agreed. "Oh and your wrong." He said to her.

"Oh?" she questioned.

"Sean Connery is a way better Bond then Dalton." He said with a smile.

"No way!" Anne disagreed.

"Yes!" he proclaimed. "Bond marathon?" he challenged her "state your argument." He said.

"That's over fifty hours!" Anne exclaimed.

"Oh fine then," he said "be wrong." He said with a cheeky smile.

She shook her head in fake outrage "You know which buttons to press!" she exclaimed poking him in the ribs.

"Me, you a TV and a chill out week."

"You're on!" she said "But we better get some studying done then too. Unless you aren't serious about the Avery?" she challenged him.

"Count me in Shirley!"


	16. AOA Chapter 8

**I must admit this has been my favourite on to write to date!**

* * *

Gilbert grinned trying not to let his pride show too much as they entered the hall. He did manage to look up "Wow!" he exclaimed looking at the decorations "Josie really out did herself!" he said with a smile to Anne.

 _It wasn't unlike the reaction he had just given when he first saw Anne._

 _From top her hair was in a half up half down twisted crown with tiny crystals in it the rest of her hair left loose down her back with a combination of her own natural waves and tiny plaits throughout with tiny aqua crystal beads in her hair. The Aqua crystal beads matched the dress she wore. Just above her knee with a sweetheart neckline (Gilbert couldn't help but notice she looked really good in sweetheart necklines even if it did have the sheer over it covering her shoulders) the dress was an aqua green blue with crystals emphasising her chest and waist and the back the rest of the dress had scattered crystals across it._

 _Anne had looked up and laughed "Close your mouth you're leaking air from your brain." Anne said to him._

 _"_ _S-sorry." Gilbert said looking at her shutting his mouth. "You look- Wow! Just wow!" he finished._

 _Anne smiled "Thanks."_

 _"_ _You really really suit your hair like that." He managed. "It looks beautiful natural."_

 _Anne blushed slightly._

 _He cleared his throat and held up the flower corsage "I'm even more glad I got this then." He said with smile to her._

 _"_ _Oh Gil!" She exclaimed looking at it "You didn't have to!" She told him._

 _"_ _Course I did!" he objected back. "You take a girl to a dance you get her a corsage, Josie taught me that."_

 _Anne brow furrowed "I can't remember Josie wearing…"_

 _"_ _She wouldn't wear it." Gilbert said with a grin "It was bright yellow it clashed with her dress." He said with a slight grin._

 _Anne looked at him squinting at his face "You did that deliberately!" Anne exclaimed._

 _Gilbert burst into laughter with her._

 _"_ _Does that mean you not matching with her was deliberate too…"_

 _"_ _It may have been the case of accidently on purpose." He said with a smile to her._

 _She smiled. "Hmm." She said then opened the corsage and looked at the flower inside "Oh Gil!" she exclaimed looking at the corsage. It had_ _Ivory roses with mint rose buds and lavender sprays with foliage and freeze-dried gypsophila finished with ivory organza & satin corsage bow - set on a 3-row pearl wristlet._

 _"_ _The bracket can be worn without the flowers so you could wear it as just a pearl bracelet." He said with a nervous look to her, which he didn't need because seconds later she threw her arms around his neck. He smiled smelling into her hair, she smelt of t-tree and mint._

 _"_ _I love pearls." She said to him pulling back. "How could you have known that?" she asked him with a grin._

 _He shrugged before he said "Kindred spirits I suppose." He said sliding the corsage onto her arm._

 _"_ _Gil this must have cost a small fortune." She whispered._

 _"_ _Well what's the point in earning money if I can't spend it on someone pretty every once in a while." He said._

 _"_ _Some-one?" she said._

 _"_ _I-I…" he blushed "I meant something, something pretty." He said and she turned away for a moment where his eyes rolled and close, he couldn't believe how careless he was being._

 _At this Marilla came in the kitchen and looked at the pair she looked shocked for a moment before she shook her head and said to Gilbert "why Gilbert, you look just like your father in that grey suit." She told him He looked down at his own suit with a grin._

 _"_ _Oh thanks." He said with a shrug "I think."_

 _"_ _Believe me it's a compliment." Anne said with a smile to Gilbert. "The grey really suits you." Anne said of her own free will, "And the mint in the tie really brings out your eyes."_

 _"_ _Ah Anne!" Davy said coming through the door. "You look nice." He said to her. "Can I take a picture?" he said pulling out his phone and snapping the pair with grinning faces. "Awesome!" Davy bounced "I'm putting it on Facebook." He said and as quickly as he said it he bounced out the room._

 _"_ _You better get a move on, the dance will be over before you get there." Marilla said. "Take the 4 by 4 its due to snow."_

 _Anne grabbed the keys. "Thanks Marilla."_

 _"_ _I'll leave my car out in the courtyard if that's okay Marilla?" Gilbert asked._

 _"_ _Of course just bring her back safely." She said to him._

 _"_ _Can I drive?" Gilbert asked her. "I'd like to be able to say I drove you to the dance at least." He said with a smile. Anne chuckled and handed him the keys. "Come on. My knight in a four by four."_

Back to the present and looked up at the decorations and said "well if anyone can throw a party it's Josie." Gilbert told her.

"I'll choose to take that as a compliment." Josie said to the pair then she looked at Gilbert as he turned around "Say cheese!" she said holding out her phone and snapped a picture o the two. "See," she told him straight, "You do know how to coordinate with a girl." She said slightly huffed.

"We chose the colours which were the theme for the party Josie." Anne said to her and she looked at Gilbert "and we went clothes shopping together."

Josie's jaw dropped "You got Gilbert to go shopping!" She exclaimed.

"Don't worry it was under protest, the only reason he came was I promised him a lightsabre if he behaved himself." Anne said with a laugh.

"A what?" Josie said confused.

Anne rolled her eyes "From Star Wars."

Josie tutted "You're such a geek Gilbert."

"Every little boy wants a lightsabre!" He exclaimed.

"You _paid_ for it?" Josie asked Anne.

"It made his iddy preddy face light up like a Christmas tree!" Anne said with a cooing baby voice holding his cheeks for a moment.

"You two are weird!" She exclaimed. "So, what do you think?" she asked referring to her own dark blue glittering dress. It was a long dress which had a split up to her mid-thigh and a deep v plunged neck at her cleavage. The gap however was covered in a sheer material and covered in crystals.

"It's very Hollywood Josie." Anne said with a smile.

"I know right!" she said with a smile. "I have to go and check those balloons are going to come down at the right time." She said looking above them for a moment. "Excuse me."

Anne and Gilbert smiled at each other for a moment before they both looked around " Best go get the picture out the way." Gilbert suggested and they went over to join the line. "Ah!" Gilbert exclaimed "Some good teachers chaperoning tonight." Gilbert said looking around. "Coach Rennie, Miss Lewis, Miss Stacy…" he said.

"Mr Irving!" Anne exclaimed seeing him. He brow wrinkled for a moment "I wonder who is looking after Paul?" She asked Gilbert.

"None of our business." Gilbert said to her again shaking his head.

* * *

They posed for the picture and even snapped a picture of them together near the photobooth, before they danced happily for the first part of the night both with each other and with other friends they watched as Josie got ever more anxious about the balloons by the time they got to the half way point Josie was checking over the rope every two minutes leaving a rather flustered Charlie behind her, both Anne and Gilbert watching bemused as Anne started to wave her hand in front of her face. Upon proclaiming it was too hot Gilbert escorted Anne out to the side of the building to a seat which overlooked the parking lot. Gentlemen he was he took off his Jacket and put it around her.

"Won't you get cold?" she asked him.

"I still have this." He said to her pointing to the waist jacket. "And it was stifling hot in there." He said with a grin as he sat beside her. As he did tiny flutters of snow started to fall.

"Ever watched the Gilmore Girls?" Anne asked him.

"Can't say I have." He admitted.

"The main character, says she always knows when it'll snow, that its magical." She said looking up at the snow holding one hand out letting the flakes melt on her hand.

He looked up "I can't say I disagree." He replied.

"Gil?" she said.

"Yeah?"

She paused unexpectedly although Gilbert had no idea what it was she was about to say. "No-it's nothing." She said shaking her head.

He looked at her with a half-smile half confused look "are you sure?" he asked her.

"I'm just-" she seemed to struggle before she said "I'm glad we became friends."

He grinned and put his arm around her "Me too Shirley." He said sentimentally. They looked at each other in the moment and the moment froze.

"Anne! Gilbert!" they heard a familiar voice shout from the other side of the parking lot. The pair had been so wrapped up in their moment they failed to notice the car which had come into the parking lot.

"Paul!" Anne said standing up, Gilbert not far behind her. He came sprinting down the pair cuddling into Anne tightly.

"Paul!" The women called after him, coming down the lot herself. "Do you know these people?"

"This is Anne and Gilbert Grandma." Paul said to the women.

She smiled and looked at them both "So, you two are the students my son raves about and my grandson worships." She smiled "its nice to meet you both."

"Pleasure to meet you." Gilbert said to them both. "Your son is an excellent teacher." He said.

"Yes he has a real way of making the stories about us." Anne agreed.

"He works hard." She admitted.

"I'll go in and get him for you." Gilbert said.

"Thank you dear." As Gilbert was going into the house Miss Lewis was coming out of it, she looked over clearly confused and walked down to meet Anne..

"I was just making sure there was no hanky panky happening out here." She said with Anne for a smile. "You know how strict Miss Stacy is about this sort of thing."

"No, not Gilbert and I." She said "We've said before we're…"

"Just friends." Miss Lewis said with her with a laugh. She looked to the older women "Hello Mrs Irving." She said quietly.

"Hello Lavender." The older women said. "Its been a long time."

"Eleven years," Miss Lewis said quietly "More or less." She admitted. "It must be, I can't remember you being pregnant again." She said looking down at Paul. "He looks just like Stephen." She admitted.

"She's not my mom." Paul told her unbeknownst to him the complication in the matter.

Miss Lewis looked confused and so wrapped up she didn't notice Mr Irving and Gilbert come back out the mansion.

Mrs Irving looked at Miss Lewis "You mean you don't know?" She asked Lavender. "Stephen never told you?"

"Dad!" Paul exclaimed seeing Mr Irving he ran straight to him.

"What's wrong? What happened?" he asked Paul.

"I let him watch Kes." Mrs Irving said to her son.

"Kes?!" Stephen exclaimed. "Oh mom!" he said shaking his head. "He's too sensitive for films like that…"

"I know that now!" she exclaimed.

"No!" Miss Lewis exclaimed. "No, no way." She continued. She looked at Stephen the pools of water gathering in her eyes "Your son?!" she exclaimed.

"Hey Paul?" Gilbert said. "Do you want to pull a prank with Anne and me?" he asked him.

"A prank?" he asked.

"It involves some rope and about a thousand balloons dropping early and seeing how long it takes for a girl to have a complete melt down?!" he exclaimed holding out his hand.

Paul looked to his father who smiled slightly and nodded he took Gilbert's hand before he reached for Anne's too "I wish Davy were here, then he could play the prank too, he'd love it." He said to them as they walked away, as their voices faded Mrs Irving said "I'll wait in the car for Paul."

"No, its alright ma." Stephen said to his mother. "I'll take him, Miss Stacy offered to have him come anyway, I'm sure once he goes in with Anne and Gilbert she'll just accept that I took her up on her offer."

"Are you sure?" she asked Stephen, "these parties can run pretty late?"

"It's not a school night," he admitted "he'll just sleep it off."

His mother nodded and pecked him on the cheek. "Night then." She whispered heading up to the car.

* * *

Stephen sighed and looked round to Lavender who was now sitting on the bench. "Angela." She whispered.

"Yeah." He whispered sitting beside her. His head bowing into his knees his hands running through his dark hair. "Did I ever tell you why we broke up?" Stephen asked her. Lavender shook her head still looking at her knees. "We had sex…" he said rolling his own eyes "just once the whole two years we were together. Our relationship was crumbling but um, she didn't want to break up so we had sex." He told her.

"That's stupid." Lavender said to him.

"I know." He shrugged. "I knew then too, just, head cheerleader whose been your girlfriend for near on two years offers…" he trailed.

"So a girl says jump and you say how high?!" Lavender exclaimed.

"You know I did!" Stephen defended. "I was a walk over in that relationship and you know it! You know what Angela was like, she hated us being together, she hated that we had a better relationship."

"That wasn't my fault!" Lavender told him.

"She was grasping at straws!" Stephen said. "Looking for another way to manipulate me!" Stephen continued "and _boy_ did she manage it… I know, I know me agreeing wasn't perfect, I should have waited for.. I don't know something more than that!" He got up and paced in front of the bench. "Once, round the back of the gym building…" he started.

"Oh nice!" Lavender exclaimed.

"How do you think I felt, I lost my virginity to her!" he exclaimed. "Once, that all it took and she said she was on the pill so we didn't need protection. What she didn't say is that she often forgot to take it so she wasn't completely covered." He sighed and sat back down, Lavender unable to speak. "She broke up with me right after we'd…" he trailed closing his eyes in shame. "Told me I was too _small_ for her liking." He sighed "and that's when I found out she had been cheating on me with half my so-called friends on the football team, apparently they were a lot _bigger_ of a man." He swallowed before he continued "I didn't care, I was finally free of her grasp, she didn't care anymore I could be with the girl I wanted to be with at last!" he said with a pitiful look to her. "After I dropped you off home on Prom night at your parents house, I um, got home, to find Angela on the doorstep." He continued. "that's when she told me she was pregnant." He admitted. "Turns out she had a dry spell before and after me which meant only I could have been the father." He continued. "She wanted us to try again for the baby's sake." He said with a sigh. "I had a responsibility to that unborn baby, I'd been so irresponsible in bringing him into the world, I figured I had to be a man." He said with a shrug. "Once Angela went home I came to your house." He said quietly. "I was in my car looking up at what I knew was your bedroom. I was trapped all over again." He said as pools of water came to his eyes. "I sat and I cried. I tried so hard just to come up and tell you, I had to I knew I did." He took some deep breaths. "One two, three o'clock in the morning past I was still sitting there trying to find the courage, four five six…" tears escaped his eyes "and I um… got a text from Angela demanding I go to her." He sighed. "And the coward I am, left without telling you." He took some deep breaths and continued. "Our parents met and decided our futures, when Angela said she wanted to keep the baby I agreed, I had very little idea of what was coming but I stood up, I became a man, you know?" he said then got back up and started pacing "We all moved away, the plan was to settle where we were going to college." He said. "He was unusually shy at the ultrasounds to his manhood." Stephen said with a smile "so we never found out his sex until he was born." Stephen sat beside Lavender again. "Those six months weren't perfect but we tried to make it work. When she gave birth, she didn't want to hold him, so I did. For hours and hours, I held him in my arms, and I was smitten, completely and utterly in love, that's only happened one other time my whole life." He said looking at her again "I thought she might be in shock, I don't know but they asked if we had chosen a name yet and that's when she proclaimed 'it doesn't matter we aren't keeping **_it_** anyway'." Lavender looked to him amazed as he let out a huge sob "she rejected **_my son_**!" he exclaimed as if it had happened yesterday "She didn't want him, she thought he would be a girl, so she kept the baby in hopes of a… I don't know dress up doll I suppose, but she didn't _want_ him and _I_ did." He sighed. "I was eighteen years old I had no idea what I was doing but I _fought_ for **_my_** son." He said. "What else was I supposed to do?" he said. "I fought tooth and nail I was not letting my son go. I loved him, I loved him the moment he was put in my arms. Six months later she sighed the form repealing her parental rights to him, and he became solely my son." He took another deep breath "I've not heard from Angela since." He admitted. "My parents at first had custody, until I was a sensible age but I was the parent it was me raising him, every diaper change every bottle, every childhood sickness, me and him that's all it ever was, we shared my room, I had no college girlfriends, not because they were scared off by Paul but because I wasn't going to let anyone get close to Paul to hurt him, what if we broke up and it confused him as to what a mother should be?" he sighed "That's mean," he said with the shake of the head "Don't get me wrong what Angela did wasn't perfect, what I did wasn't perfect…" he sighed "There are a few moments in your life that define you as a person you know?" he said shrugging his shoulders "On Angela's side, she might not have been perfect but I neither was I. I never should have let her manipulate me the way she did. If I'd stood up and was the man I was meant to be earlier the whole thing could have been avoided. Having said that, I wouldn't change having Paul. On my side what I did to you was cowardly, but I hope what I did for my son made me brave. I wouldn't change keeping him Lavender, I wouldn't change it not one moment. I had to stand up and be a man, take on the responsibility of my actions."

"You did it alone." Lavender said softly. "No one should have to do it alone." She smiled at him "I bet you're an amazing dad."

He released a laugh with a shake of the head. He took a breath and said "You know I thought about coming and finding you." He admitted. "I thought maybe we could…" he sighed "but then I didn't know how you'd react to Paul, to Angela, to the whole…"

"I would have stood by you." She whispered.

There was a silence before he said "I didn't know that for sure." He said quietly "I'd bailed on you." He said.

"I wouldn't have bailed on you." She said. "You were my _best_ friend!" she said before she muttered "I loved you to pieces!"

"And the beginning of the year?" he asked her.

"I've had a very long time to get angry Stephen." She said quietly. "At a situation, I didn't fully understand nor grasp." She took a breath "Until now." Stephen physically gasped as her hands slid into his. "You could have told me." She whispered. "immediately, nine months later, it wouldn't matter, I loved you."

He sobbed again "I didn't really have a great impression of 'love' at that stage." He whispered.

"No, I suppose not." She said quietly. "Paul…" she smiled.

"After your brother, yeah." He admitted. "You always said if you had a son you'd name him after him. For the brother, you never knew." He looked at Lavender "I got to choose his name, it was the first name that came to mind, sort of a backhanded way of giving Angela two fingers up for messing it up between us too." He said with a half snort.

"That's really sweet Stephen." She said letting go of his hands and wrapping her arms around him. "Oh Stephen!" she whispered. He broke down into sobs of crying he cuddled into her closely her hands went to his hair gently ruffling through it. "Shh." She soothed.

"I suppose she got the last laugh." He said pulling back. "Making sure I stay a bachelor for life." He said.

Lavender looked at him. "You don't have to be Stephen." She whispered. There was a marked silence before she continued "A lot has happened and a lot has changed." She said to him. "But we were a good match, once upon a time maybe the things which made us so good together are the things that haven't changed." She suggested.

He looked up and into her blue eyes. "What are you saying?" he asked her.

"We could maybe try again?" she questioned. "Maybe?"

"Really?" he asked her.

"You really loved me back then?" she asked him to which he immediately nodded. "I loved you. Somethings never change, not even in eleven years." She said.

Stephen didn't need any more encouragement he leaned into her and kissed her as if they were teenagers again. As they pulled back he looked at her "I'm so sorry Lavender, I was a fool and a coward, I'm so sorry, I'm so so…" this time she reached for him kissing him again as if he were the teenage boy she had fallen in love with all those years ago.

Finally pulling back from the kiss they smiled and laughed in relief. "So Paul…" she said to him.

"He's amazing!" Stephen said proudly.

"Can I meet him properly?" she asked him.

"Sure." He said quickly before he amended. "Can we start it with him with us just being friends? He's really sensitive I don't know…"

"Yes, that's fine," Lavender said to him. "I'd really love to meet him."

Stephen kissed her again before he out his arm around her and took her back inside the mansion. They made it inside the main hall to see Josie face bright red as the early balloon release had a domino effect, most of the burst the glitter all over the floor and the ice sculptor of the swan was smashed across the floor the jocks making the most of it and picked up what they could to put ice in their drinks at last the other cheerleaders with towels found in the mansion and mops on the floor. Gilbert Anne and Paul were sitting in one corner laughing at the chaos, in all truth the party was far from a disaster but Josie's dramatics made the night. It was Anne who first saw Miss Lewis and Mr Irving come back in she smiled as Mr Irving caught her eye, his arm around Miss Lewis and a smile to Anne. Anne nudged Gilbert and nodded over to them. Gilbert's grinned widened as raised his eyebrows to his teacher his bottom lip protruding for a second. His arm went around Anne and they smiled to each other.

It was then that the sweethearts dance was announced. Paul jumped up offering his hand to Anne, she chuckled and looked at Gilbert "The best man won there." He admitted and shrugged in defeat. Anne stood and danced with the little man. She looked up and over at Gilbert whose eyes indicated to their teachers. Anne looked over and saw Mr Irving and Miss Lewis in each other's arms. It was half way through the dance before Paul lead Anne to Gilbert and said "You two had better dance really." He said and he sat on the chair next to Gilbert. Gilbert stood and led Anne to the floor again.

They half passed Josie and Charlie of whom Charlie was heard saying to her "Say Josie I was wondering…" Anne and Gilbert smiled at each other.

"You know I saved you from that fate." Gilbert whispered to Anne.

"Yes you did, didn't you?" she said with a smile to him. "Thanks for that."

They looked over at Miss Lewis and Mr Irving again "it looks like you have a way of bringing people together." He whispered.

"I don't think it was me." Anne admitted.

"By domino effect maybe." He said with a smile to her.

"Its funny," she reflected "the ripple effect we have on other people." She sighed romantically and then cuddled into Gilbert's chest.

* * *

It was almost midnight by the time they had got back from the dance. He had walked her to the door and told her what a good time he had. She smiled and had agreed. She admitted school dances weren't normally as fun as when she went with a real kindred spirit. He gave her back the keys to the truck then smiled, taken her hand and kissed the back of her palm playfully, then before she had time to analyse the tingling it had sent up her hand he had bid her goodnight and had retrieved to the safety of his car.

' _What on earth was that?'_ she thought to herself as she walked into the house locking the door behind her. _'that wasn't... romantic was it_?' she wondered. _'No_!' she reasoned. ' _Gilbert isn't interested in you like **that**_.' she told herself. ' _remember his choices aren't limited, he could **have** which ever girl he wanted_.' she continued. ' _And anyway you don't want him to have those feelings for you_.' she reminded herself climbing the stairs. ' _that only leads to..._ ' she flinched for a second ' _and you don't want that do you?'_ she said firmly. _'anyway_ ,' she thought logically, ' _this evening was lovely'_ she sighed opening her bedroom door she moved across the room swiftly. ' _ **it** doesn't come from nights like this._ ' she told herself. ' _Tonight is a sacred night, full of friendships renewed and pasts forgotten._ ' she smiled down at the corsage she picked some of the mint green roses petals then picked some of the ivory rose petals and did the same with those, she picked out a spray of lavender and smelt the freshness for a moment before she picked out the gypsophila and ivory organza and looked around her room for a good source to press them in. She smiled as she saw the big old family bible and brought it down opening it randomly. She got a sheet of white paper arranged the flowers on it while reading the verses from the bible. Some people might disagree with her but she always found the language in the bible to be so poetic and she thought it was lovely. It had opened in 1 Corinthians 13, she read.

" _Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; **and though I have all faith** , so that I could remove mountains, **and have not charity, I am nothing**. And though **I bestow all my goods** to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, **and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing**. Charity **suffereth long** , and is **kind** ; charity **envieth not** ; charity **vaunteth not itself** , is **not puffed up** , Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is **not easily provoked** , thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; **Beareth all things** , believeth all things, hopeth all things, **endureth all things.** Charity **never faileth** : but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away._"**

She finished arranging the flowers as she liked and lay another she of paper over the top tucking it into the spine of the bible and tucking it away on the bookshelf. Those would be ready in a few days to be stuck to a bookmark, she smiled as she removed the flowers from the bracelet and placed the flowers inside her top draw, but she loved the bracelet and put in on her bedside table read to be slipped on in the morning. She readied for bed the words from the bible played her mind as she mulled it over.

Its funny, she often thought of charity as someone giving up something for someone else, usually money or clothes, she supposed now it was because she had been on the receiving end of it so often, but those verses made it sound like so much more. If you had no charity you had nothing. Which was particularly funny considering they were giving up things for someone else, it was almost as if charity was an inner quality.

Fully ready for bed she plugged in her phone and noticed a whatsapp message waiting she unlocked her phone and opened it.

Gil: Thanks for tonight Carrots ;-), You looked stunning and I had a really good time.

Anne smiled and sat on her bed replying.

I should be the one writing that message.

She sent it off seeing he was online and then he typed back fast.

Gil: Well we'll call it even then.

She found herself repressing a smile as she read his words.

Night Gil.

Gil: Night Zzz

Anne laughed then put her phone on her bedside table and snuggled under her duvet. She closed her eyes then thought to herself with admiration for the quality 'You know Gil has charity*'. she sighed happily and fell of to sleep.

* * *

AN: *its all to do with the translation, which I'll go into later.

**Emphasis added for Anne's thought emphasis


	17. AOA Chapter 9

**Hi Folks!**

 **Thanks for all the stunning reviews last week with it being one of my favourite to right it was particularly satisfying! Just so you all know I added a little to the end of the last chapter. Its not tons and its right at the end, i put it there because it made sense to put it there and not here.**

 **This was a fun one to modernize. I wanted to include some of the original stories because they are so fun to do! So I hope you all like it!**

 **love Carrots x**

* * *

"Student council in session." Gilbert said hitting the gabble on the table the first day back at school. He turned to Anne and smiled "I love doing that." He said as she gave him a chuckle. "Right item first on the agenda." He said looking at it. "Ah yes, the town council has asked for the high school students help." He said with a smile. "They would like the students of the school to help with the repainting and repairs to the town hall." Gilbert said looking up to the group.

"Why do they want our help?" Josie asked.

"We're the future of the town." Anne replied. "It makes sense that the high school should want to give back to the community."

"The football session is out until March." Gilbert said. "I bet we could use the indoor pitch to host a charity game. Write to local people, maybe fathers against sons, we could sell tickets $2 a ticket the stadium seats 200 that will be $400."

"We could put on a talent show." Charlie suggested. "The hall is even bigger 500 seats $5 that's a good $2,500."

"Plus there would be no harm in taking the bucket for the band sheet music, raising funds is always hoot." Josie added.

"We better look at catering for the events too." Anne suggested.

Gilbert nodded his head "Right…" he said "Joseph you getting this?" he asked.

"Catering, got it." Joseph finished.

"I think we're off to an excellent start." Gilbert said with a grin to his student council. "Lets see how it goes. Item two, the yearbook…" he said looking at Jessica. "How's that shaping up?" he asked her.

"The early deposit is paying off, we're getting 10% off the total bill at the end of the year." Jessica said.

"That's good, ten per cent more into the school funds at the end of the year."

"and another 20% off for the +80 copies we need." She continued. "If we sell them at $20 we break even at 78 copies."

Gilbert smiled "then the more people we get to buy the yearbook the better, we should aim for a promise to pay from at least 100 of the 120 pupils. So we need those reply slips in by the end of the month." He acknowledged.

"We've put out the ballot for the bests worse, biggest and most likely too, old favourites everyone likes to see… Best Dressed, Best Smile Best Couple, best bum included, worse dress worse attempt at man bun, etc, full list is here," She said handing round a piece of paper, "we need a student profile on both you and Anne." She said to Gilbert with a smile to Anne.

Gilbert groaned and Anne looked uncomfortable. "Can we at least give it together?" Anne asked.

Jessica smiled "That would-be fun have a joint interview, I think we can work round it." She said.

"Well its something at least." Gilbert replied. "Good work keep us updated. Item three, student teacher classroom assistants, there's been very little uptake on the offer this year for students to go to the middle school and help out in the classroom the middle school teachers are asking for us to drive the recruitment. It good help for them and it looks excellent on our resumes for college." Gilbert said with a smile. "so what can we do to encourage it?"

"we could do it ourselves?" Anne offered up. "All the student council do it, it'll seem cool all of a sudden."

Gilbert's bottom lip protruded "I'll tell you the truth I just never thought of doing it." He said honestly "If your game I am." Gilbert said with a smile to Anne. "Charlie? Josie?" Gilbert said.

"Hm, well as long as it doesn't take up all my time." Charlie said.

"Its an hour a week" Gilbert said with an eye roll.

"I'm in." Jessica said.

"and me." Joseph added.

"This is a good start." Gilbert smiled.

Eventually council was adjourned and Josie looked on Anne arm. "That's a pretty bracelet." She said looking at the pearls. "Did you get it for Christmas?"

"No." Anne said with a smile to it. "It's the bracelet my corsage came on, doesn't Gilbert have good taste." She said playfully nudging him.

"I doubt they're real." Josie said without a piece of malice but with a sweet laugh.

"I wear them to remind me of my best friend, not for the monetary value. That means more to me then a single pearl."

Josie looked confused as she walked away, Anne didn't see the wide eyed look from Gilbert's eyes as she followed.

She'd just called him her best friend.

And he meant more to her then pearls.

* * *

"Anne, Thea is lost!"

"Thea! Lost!" Anne looked at Davy, who was swinging on the yard gate, and detected merriment in his eyes. "Davy, do you know where she is?"

"No, I don't," said Davy stoutly. "I haven't seen her since dinner time, cross my heart."

"I only went out the front door to deal with the milk orders for next week, when I came back David said Thea was gone and he didn't see her leave." Marilla said coming out the house.

"I didn't its true," avowed Davy.

"She must be somewhere around," said Anne. "She would never wander far away alone . . . you know how timid she is. Perhaps she has fallen asleep in one of the rooms."

Marilla shook her head.

"I've looked, my room your room, Rachel's and David's, both the bathroom, the front and back rooms downstairs."

A thorough search followed. Every corner of house, yard, and outbuildings.

" _Gil please come over, Thea's lost and we can't find her anywhere. I'm about to go look for into the woods, I'm so scared for her Gil please help?_ " was Anne's plea via text message to him.

Anne continued her search through the orchards and the Haunted Wood, calling Thea's name. Marilla took a candle and explored the cellar. Finally they met again in the yard where Gilbert pulled up in his car.

"Tell me what I can do to help?" Gilbert offered jumping out of the car.

"Where can she be?" said Anne miserably giving Gilbert a hug as he came to them "Thanks for coming so fast."

"Maybe she's tumbled into the well," suggested Davy cheerfully.

"There's no need to sound quite so happy about it Davy." Anne said to him almost trembling.

"She . . . she might have," whispered Marilla.

Anne, feeling faint and sick, went to the wellbox and peered over. The bucket sat on the shelf inside. Far down below was a tiny glimmer of still water. The Cuthbert well was the deepest in Avonlea.

"I knew I should have got a grid over this." Marilla said. "I always liked it as it was for historical sake." She sighed.

In the meantime Gilbert had ran to the back of his car bringing out a rope and a lot of rope climbing gear. "Is that well deeper then 100 meters?" he asked.

"no, its um…" Marilla said trying for a moment to do the maths. "Oh 250 feet."

"Okay…" he said with a nod doing the maths on his own "So that's about 75 meters. He tied the rope round the nearby tree. "Davy I want you to keep an eye on this rope, when I tug it like this, I want you to help Anne help get me out, got it?" he asked.

"Sure." Davy exclaimed. As Gilbert clipped on his metalwork.

"How do you have all this?" Anne asked him.

Gilbert laughed and looked at her "little bit of adrenalin can do you a world of good sometimes Shirley." He said with a wink.

"Gil its dangerous!" she said looking down the well.

He strapped on a headlight "Just call me danger mouse!" he said. "If Thea is down there I'll be able to get her."

It was a good half an hour later Gilbert came back up being tugged up by Anne and Davy.

"Good news is she's definitely not down there." Gilbert confirmed.

Marilla sighed in relief then looked at Davy again. "Are you sure you don't know where she is?"

"I've told you a dozen times that I haven't," said Davy, with an injured air. "Maybe a tramp come and stole her."

"Nonsense," said Marilla sharply. "Anne, do you suppose she could have strayed over to Mr. Harrison's? She has always been talking about his parrot ever since that time you took her over."

"I can't believe Dora would venture so far alone but can you take me over and see?" Anne asked Gilbert.

No one saw the change in Davy's face as he slipped out of sight into the barn.

Anne and Gilbert took his car and headed over to the Harrison's. The house was locked, the window shades were down, and there was no sign of anything living about the place. She stood on the veranda and called Thea loudly.

Ginger, in the kitchen behind her, shrieked and swore with sudden fierceness; but between his outbursts and Anne's shouting Gilbert's ears perked.

"Shhh." He said quietly. "Can you hear that?" he asked Anne. He moved round to the side of the house to an outhouse where he threw the door open and Gilbert found a small girl in the foetal position on the floor.

"Anne!" Gilbert called before he went inside "Thea, its me, Gilbert" he whispered as the girl turned and looked up at him. She threw herself at him and sobbed into him quietly. "Shh, shh, its alright." He soothed her. As Anne arrived on scene.

"Oh, Thea!" she exclaimed joining them on the floor "what a fright you have given us! What are you doing here?!"

"Davy and I came over to see Ginger," sobbed Thea, "but we couldn't see him after all, only Davy made him swear by kicking the door. And then Davy brought me here and run out and shut the door; and I couldn't get out. I cried and cried, I was frightened, and oh, I'm so hungry and cold; and I thought you'd never come, Anne."

"Davy?" But Anne could say no more. Gilbert was the one who carried her back to his car. Anne cuddled her in the back of the car and Gilbert drove the two back to Green Gables in silence.

When they got out the car Marilla ran to Thea throwing her arms around her. "Oh baby girl!" Marilla exclaimed. "Oh we were so scared!" she cried

"There was one person who in all of this was pretty calm don't you say Marilla?" Anne said looking to Davy accusingly. He stood in the yard he head bowed. "How could you lie like that David?" she whispered with tears in her eyes.

"Anne?" Marilla asked her.

"David took Thea over there to see Ginger and left her in a locked shed." Anne exclaimed. It was Marilla's turn to be speechless. "It not even that David…" Anne said looking at him directly, "You had Marilla and I combing this house, the property the whole of the woods which lead down to Gilbert' house, you had Gilbert risking his life going down a well!" Anne exclaimed.

"But that was fun!" he protested

"That was dangerous!" Anne exclaimed

"Gilbert knew what he was doing, he wasn't in any danger." Davy defended.

"I knew what I was doing Davy but it doesn't mean I wasn't in danger." Gilbert admitted. "Why do you think I put on so much safety gear before I went down there? Why do you think I took my flashlight and had a safety rope on?" he asked Davy. "To help keep me safe, in a situation which would never have occurred if you told the truth in the first place."

"Are you mad at me too Gilbert?" he asked him.

"I'm disappointed as Anne is that you could pretend you didn't know where your sister was this whole time." He said.

"Not to mention the fright you gave your sister." Marilla said holding a shaking Thea.

"She'll be fine." Davy said offhandedly.

"Your sister is shaking!" Anne exclaimed. "This isn't pulling a girls hair or name calling, this is dangerous Davy what if we didn't find her!?"

"I'm sorry Anne, I never meant to upset you." He said.

"If you upset your sister you upset me, go to your room and don't expect to come down until morning."

"Without dinner?" he asked looking at Marilla.

"I'd go with Anne's punishment if I were you, mine involved sleeping in the cold barn see how you liked it." Marilla said sharply.

At this Davy burst into tears himself and ran into the house. Marilla picked up Thea and carried her into the house and putting on the stove to make some warm cocoa. "I'll run you a bath too." She soothed her going upstairs.

Gilbert looked to Anne who was calming Thea. "Don't look at me like that." She said quietly.

"Like what?" he asked her.

"Like I was being too hard on Davy." She muttered.

"I wasn't." he said seriously with a shrug. "Maybe it's your conscious calling."

"My conscious, is you?" Anne said with a dagger look to Gilbert. "God help me."

Gilbert took a heavy sigh and looked away "On that note, see you at school." He said leaving sharpish out the door.

Anne and Thea looked at each other silently for a moment before Anne got up "Alright, alright." Anne said leaving the kitchen and following him outside. "Gilbert!" she called to him as he opened his car door. She ran to him throwing her arms around him. His breath caught and he closed his eyes wrapping his arms likewise around her. "I'm sorry." She whispered. He subconsciously breathed in her scent before they pulled back "I'm just in shock that David could be like that."

"I know." Gilbert said quietly.

"There would be nothing wrong with having you as a conscious." She said to him looking at him pitifully her grey eyes wide. "and its not way to treat you after you rushed down here and climbed down a well unnecessarily before you found Thea."

"Davy…" he said quietly.

Anne sighed "I'll go up and talk to him once I've calmed down." She sighed. "I might even find it in me to take up something for him so he won't go hungry." She said humbly. "Come in, won't you?" she asked of him. "We can do some studying for the Avery." She said with a playful smile. "we can have some cocoa…" she offered, "with spray cream…" she teased.

"And marshmallows?" he asked her with a teasing grin.

"And marshmallows." She laughed.

Gilbert shut the door. "Alright then."

"Alright then." she smiled back as she held her hand out to him.


	18. AOA Chapter 10

"Are you two sure you're okay babysitting?" Mr Irving asked them. "You have finals coming up?" he asked them "I don't want your marks downgraded because you were too busy playing matchmaker for me." He told them.

"Paul is a pleasure to have." Anne said to him "And he has Davy and Thea to hang out with it'll be fun, we'll have popcorn and pizza, a movie marathon and camping out in the front room." Anne smiled.

"We'll be doing most of our studying here." Gilbert said.

It was nearing the Easter break.

"It feels like its been nearly every weekend you've had him." Mr Irving said.

"Its not." Anne said with a smile.

"And anyway" Gilbert started with a cheeky grin "it means you and Miss Lewis can…"

"Please don't say it!" he exclaimed, "I don't need to hear it from my high school students!" he said shaking his arms in front of him to which made Gilbert laugh but one glance at Anne told Gilbert she was uncomfortable.

"How's Paul taking to Miss Lewis?" Gilbert asked him trying to make Anne a bit more comfortable.

"Pretty well actually." He said. "Better than I thought." He admitted. "We've had a few 'Lavender and Paul' dates." He said with a smile. "she said he's very easy to love."

"we're attest to that!" Anne exclaimed.

"Call me, if there's any problems." He asked them, to which they nodded as he left the house.

* * *

As promised Gilbert and Anne knocked on Mr Irving's Flat door 10:00 sharp the next morning. Mr Irving answered the door with a pair of dark grey PJ bottoms and a white t shirt on his top, his hair unorderly it was clear he had just got out of bed to answer the door.

"Dad!" Paul exclaimed as he saw his dad.

"Hey little man." He said with a smile. "Did you enjoy your first sleepover?" he asked him.

"Sure did, Gilbert let us watch the original Star Wars Movie!" he exclaimed. "They were on until 4am this morning!"

"Oh?" he said laughing then looking up at his students "4am huh?" he smiled. "Do me a favour son, go and play in your room for a little while and don't go into daddy's room okay?" he asked his son.

"Okay Dad." Paul said then zoomed through to the bedrooms.

"Thank you, Anne and Gilbert." He said with a smile to him "looks like his first sleepover was a success."

"Indeed, I believe it was." Gilbert said with a smile.

"Did you two sleep?" he asked.

"Anne took Thea up to her bedroom at about midnight and painted her nails did her hair pretty. I stayed downstairs with the boys." He grinned. He looked at the blush on his teacher's cheeks "Should we not be here?" he asked Mr Irving before another voice came from the direction of the bedrooms.

"Are we all clear?" A Miss Lewis called covered in a robe which was obviously Mr Irving's. "Apparently not." She said with a blush.

Gilbert's eyes flew above him suddenly finding the doorframe very interesting and Anne didn't know where to put her eyes.

"Oh um…" Gilbert blushed still his eyes diverted.

"Morning Anne, morning Gilbert." Lavender said her own cheeks flushing.

"Good morning Miss Lewis." They both muttered.

"Um…" Lavender stuttered.

"I think we better get a move on." Gilbert said. "Good to see you Miss… I mean it was nice… I mean, good morning Miss Lewis." He said taking a flushed Anne by the arm and taking her down the stairway.

Stephen shut the door then turned and looked at Lavender and they both burst out laughing. "Do you think they knew?" Stephen teased.

* * *

"Anne!" Gilbert called to her down the corridor. "Anne!" he exclaimed again catching her attention she turned and looked for him through the crowds which he politely pushed through arriving at Anne. "The scouts for the feeder teams into the college football teams are back." He said with a look to her. He smiled "they are looking at placing another scholarship with our year." He said.

She threw her arms around him "You have a chance to make up for last year?!" she asked him.

"Not make up, have another go." He said quietly in her ear.

She pulled back and looked at him "Do you think you're in for a chance?" she asked.

"More than likely." He said. "They are coming just to recruit me, they aren't even looking at the other players." He said with a smile. "Just don't tell the others that." He said to her.

"Gilbert!" she exclaimed throwing her arms around him. "That's wonderful!" she told him. "Tell me the game and I will be there to see you win that scholarship!" she said to him pulling back looking up at him.

"The game in a weeks' time." He said to her. "That ties up nicely, the results for the Avery should be back by then."

"You could still win that." She told him straight.

"Na, everyone says it'll either go to you or Emily." He said. "This is my chance!" he said with a smile. "Oh please be there!?" he asked her "I don't think I'll be half as nervous knowing you'll be there cheering me on."

"Consider it done." She said with a smile to him.

"Anne, Gilbert!" Fred called from one end of the corridor, they both turned around to look at him. "There's something you should see." He called to them.

* * *

A line of ten students stood outside the town hall and looked at wonder at the old building.

"Remind me again what colour was it meant it be?" Gilbert asked Anne.

"Green!" she exclaimed. "A very pretty green."

"That's not green." Diana said their eyes still peeled to the building.

"That it isn't." Gilbert agreed.

"Its blue." Fred stated.

"Very very blue." Anne said amazed.

"Almost a TARDIS blue." Gilbert said. "Maybe the old building has been replaced by a Timelord's TARDIS."

Charlie turned to Gilbert. "Please stop being ridiculous."

"Hey, I'm just trying to find the silver lining!" Gilbert said.

"I don't understand how it happened!?" Anne questioned.

"Who did the paintwork again?" Joseph asked.

"Joshua Pye." Anne said with a sigh. "He promised the best value for money." Anne said.

Gilbert sighed.

"He did get the roof fixed…" Josie started but seemed to get cut off by half the student council

Gilbert interrupted "Everyone needs to just stop it!" He yelled at them "I don't think Josh would have done this on purpose, he's a start-up business and this was meant to showcase his talents."

"He needs to fix this out of his own pocket." Joseph exclaimed. "its his mistake and we can't afford to take it out of the schools funds."

"Now hold on a minute…" Charlie started to defend.

"Pipe down Charles." Gilbert said holding back his friend. "Its only paint, we need to find out how much it would be with the undercoat to cover the blue and then the green paint we chose on top." He sighed. "Then meet with the town council members and come up with some fundraising ideas."

"Do you think that will work?" Diana asked.

"There's no harm in asking." Gilbert admitted. "Joseph, go and get those figures for me." The group dispersed and Gilbert looked at Anne. "Why the long face Shirley?" he asked her.

We've done so much good this year." She said woefully. "And this is what we'll be remembered for? We'll simply be laughed out of existence."

"Never mind that Anne." He said putting his arm around her "You're looking at the down side, I think people are way more likely to remember we raised money not once but twice for the town hall."

"Mmm." She said her arms crossed in front of her, she seemly oblivious to Gilbert's arm being around her. "What did he say Miss Stacy?" Anne asked their high school principle approached them.

"It's to do with the numbering of the shades of paint. They use the Pantone system where our green number was Pantone 2456C it seems this was the 2955c."

Anne sighed heavily.

"Don't get pessimistic, we can fix it." He whispered to her. "Come on!" he said guiding her to his car "let's go get ice-cream." He said to her.

* * *

They sat opposite each other in the ice cream parlour they were sharing huge ice cream sundae between them. Anne looked to him thoughtfully and said to him "Can I ask you something?"

He smiled and looked up "You just did." He replied. "But I'll give you another for free."

Anne smiled and leaned forward "So you go to school you get up at the crack of dawn you have all your after-school clubs you're pretty much breaking even with me on every subject and you're holding down a job…"

He nodded listening to this list "How do I do it?" he said in anticipation.

"No, not how, you're clearly more than capable. But…" Anne said then she slowly said "Why?"

Gilbert sat back in his chair putting down his spoon his bottom lip protruded and he nodded. "Why?"

"Yes, why do you do it? When every other teen uses the bank of mammy and daddy, I mean I can't, but my hours are minimal as a tutor. So why? When your parents have plenty, why do you not follow the expected and get off your parents?"

He smiled and picked up his spoon again, playing with the melted ice-cream on his side for a moment "When I was twelve I decided to rebel." He said with a grin. "I was tired in a morning and I wanted to sleep and I let my parents know it." He took a breath and took a scoop of ice-cream popping it in his mouth. "I told them I wasn't getting up anymore I wasn't milking the stupid cows and I wasn't bailing the hay." He gave a grin and looked to Anne, "and they let me go through with it." He said honestly. "A whole week I slept until seven." He said. "Then there was no milk for my cereal." He said with a shrug "I said they could have bought milk and I genuinely thought it was stupid." He said with a chuckle. "So I went for some toast but there was no butter…" he smiled, "my dad took me out to the barn and we started to bail the hay and he told me that everything we did had a consequence and we don't always get to choose the consequence. In farming, if the cows don't get milked then we don't get milk, we can't sell milk so we can't make butter or cheese and we lose that income too." He took a breath "I asked him why I should why he couldn't do it, it was his farm, he said he could but then he would need to ignore the work he was doing in order to do mine. He said the consequences to my actions would be seen somewhere along the line, and it was my responsibility to contribute, not just to the farm but the world in general." He took a few more spoons of ice-cream before he said, "it had an immediate effect something about contributing to the world in general, I don't know lit something inside of me, I wanted to do… more. Of course he didn't tell me the cows had been milked the cheese and butter had been made, they did it to prove a point." he said. He fell silent though Anne knew by the look on his face he was trying to hold back on what was coming out of his mouth. "It was just a month later he was diagnosed." He said quietly.

Anne studied his serious face for a moment "It wasn't your fault." Anne said to him quietly.

"Wasn't it?" he said seriously not looking at her.

"Gil." She whispered putting her hand on his. "You couldn't have known." She whispered. "It was just unfortunate timing, you were just a kid."

"Selfish arrogant cocky little child!" Gilbert said still looking down.

"Gil! No, not you…"

"That's what you thought I was when we first met." He said looking up at her.

"Do you have any idea how wrong I was about you?" she asked him. "Not a single one of those adjectives describe you _at all_. You're sweet and kind, thoughtful, selfless…"

"Its who I try and be." He said quietly.

She squeezed his hand "No Gil, its who you are."

He took a deep breath. "What about you Shirley?" he asked her.

She took a breath and thought for a moment before she said anything but slowly and carefully she said "Someone told me a long time ago I was worthless that I would never amount to anything." She said quietly before she looked up at him "and I will do _anything_ to prove him _wrong_ in _every single way_."

He looked to her seriously before he whispered "You're worth a world Shirley."

"Thanks." She whispered they looked each other in the eyes their fingers intertwining their lips fainting a smile to each other.

The song in the background changed tracks to an upbeat loud tempo which snapped the pair out of their spell. Anne's blushed and looked into her side of the ice cream.

He felt the pang in his heart as she pulled back the blush at his own cheek so he decided to defuse the situation, scooped up some ice cream on his spoon and held it up "to being who we want to be." He proposed the toast with the ice-cream.

Anne chuckled and dipped her spoon in the ice-cream and brought it out. "Cheers." She said clinking her spoon with his.

* * *

"Anne you have post." Marilla said as Anne came in through the door. Gilbert not far behind her Anne casually said 'thanks' and picked up the envelope.

"Its big!" Anne exclaimed looking at it. She looked at the postmark "The Avery association!" she said before she looked back down at the envelope. Her hands started shaking.

"Open it!" Gilbert exclaimed.

"No what if I've got it, that means you haven't, what if I don't have it that surely means you do!" Anne said to him.

"yes, it's a bit of a Schrödinger envelope you have there." He said with a smile. "Open it and find out!"

Anne stood shaking "Oh Gil I can't!" she exclaimed. "You do it!" she told him.

He rolled his eyes taking the envelope off her. "You know this is illegal, right? Opening someone else's mail?" he asked her as he opened it.

"I doubt it counts if I'm right here in front of you." She said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Dear Miss Shirley," he started then a huge grin spread across his face "we are pleased to inform you…!" he exclaimed.

"No!" she yelled jumping up and down.

"Yes!" he yelled back picking her up in his arms hugging her "You did it! You did it!" he said.

"I can't believe this!" she said as he brought her back down to earth and she took the letter off him. "This is amazing!" she exclaimed where her face dropped. "but this means that you don't have it!" she exclaimed.

He shook his head. "I don't care about that, I'd already resigned the fact that I wouldn't get this one, full throttle for my football scholarship!" he exclaimed. "I'm so proud of you!" he exclaimed.

"I couldn't have done it without you!" she exclaimed back.

"Then we'll call it even when I get my football scholarship." He said with a smile.

* * *

"Anne, Gilbert, I'm sorry to interrupt your studies but I'm afraid this was a matter of some urgency." Miss Stacy greeted them as they came in the office. "It's been quite some time since I had the two of you in here." She said with a smile to them both. "How are you both? I understand your relationship has much improved since the last time you were both here."

"Yes Miss Stacy." Anne said with a smile to her teacher "I really was just being very childish, you were quite right in the suspicions you had last year about us." She continued "we really so make the best of friends."

Miss Stacy glanced at the pair "that is good to hear, and makes this so much easier." She took a deep breath "congratulations Anne on the Avery scholarship, that's some reward to be getting."

"Thank you." She replied. "I know it is."

"You should know that the Avery is a good indicator as to who will get valedictorian, usually when one gets the prize they get the other." She continued.

"Usually? Miss Stacy?" Anne asked with a hopeful eye.

"Where you are ahead of Gilbert in English he makes up for in maths." She said honestly. "As it so happens both your grade point averages are exactly, and I mean exactly alike." She took a sigh and looked at them both "You both attend multilabel after school classes and you both have glowing reports from each and every teacher. So we've had to come to an unusual decision." She said she paused looking at both her students for a moment "That you both are named valedictorian." She said with a smile.

They both looked to her wide eyed with huge smiles on their faces

"Gil!" Anne exclaimed grabbing his hand. "Did you hear it did you!?" she exclaimed.

"I heard." He said squeezing her hand back. "Congratulations Shirley." He said with the widest smile on his face.

"Congratulations Blythe." She replied back likewise.

"Will you be making separate speeches do you think?" Miss Stacy asked them.

"Oh should we do it together?" Anne asked him. "That would be fun right?" she said.

He smiled for a moment before he looked up into her eager grey eyes "sure, sounds like fun."

"Alright then," Miss Stacy said to them with a smile. "Congratulations, both of you, I'm very proud of my top two student." She took a sigh before she said to Anne. "Can you give Gilbert and I a moment Anne, I just need to discuss the scholarship at the football game he'll be playing."

* * *

Gilbert found Anne sometime later lying on the field looking up at the sky watching the cloud go past. He took a sigh and lay down beside her looking up at the clouds too.

"Do you see them too Gilbert?" she asked him. "The world which exists in the clouds, all the faces?"

"Sure I do." He said looking at them too "it's called Pareidolia." He said.

Anne chuckled "of course there's a scientific name. Not everything has to be defined to make it real."

"I know it doesn't, life wouldn't be much fun without a little bit of mystery left in it." He said with a grin to her. He stopped at studied her for a moment "Hey Anne?"

"Yeah?" she said in return.

"Come to Prom with me?" he asked her.

She turned her head and looked at him for a moment. "Most popular guy in school and you want to take the smartest girl?" she asked.

"I'm the smartest guy in school and I want to take the prettiest and smartest girl in school, which is you Anne Shirley." He stated.

"Oh." She said quietly looking back up at the clouds. "Okay then."

* * *

"Anne, Gilbert!" Mr Irving said as the two teens walked into his classroom rather nervously and they sat down. "I'm getting far too used to saying that." He said with a smile.

"Is everything alright Mr Irving?" Gilbert asked his teacher. "The note didn't say why you wanted us here." He said as Miss Lewis came in the room.

"We wanted you two to know, first, well after Paul of course but before everyone else…" Mr Irving said with a smile to Miss Lewis as she came to stand next to him her hands in his.

"We're engaged!" Miss Lewis exclaimed.

Anne jumped up with Gilbert not too far behind her.

"You didn't waste any time!" Gilbert exclaimed to them.

"We wasted eleven years!" Mr Irving said to him. "That's long enough."

"Oh congratulations!" Anne shrieked hugging Miss Lewis happily while Gilbert shook Mr Irving hand.

"We've sent for the adoption papers for Paul." Miss Lewis said "So I can be officially his mother. But last night when we told him, he called me 'mom' for the first time!" she said with tears in her eyes "I knew he was my little boy the moment I got to meet him!"

"Oh Miss Lewis you're making me cry!" Anne exclaimed.

"There is one thing we want to ask of you." Mr Irving said to them both. "Paul is going to be our page boy, we were wondering if you would be best man?" he asked of Gilbert.

Gilbert's mouth hung loose for a moment "of course!" he exclaimed.

"And you maid of honour!?" she asked Anne.

Anne squealed in happiness as a reply.

"You've really both, taken us and Paul..." Miss Lewis started as she started to sob.

Mr Irving smiled. "You mean an awful lot to us." He said to them.


	19. AOA Chapter 11

**Okay folks!**

 **Last chapter of AOA here! And I think I am going to just keep going into AOTI adding the chapters as I am here. I'll admit I write ahead and there are already a lot of chapters of AOTI but it is the book now isn't it?!**

 **You know what I love Original McFishie, that you call me on the realism in my fanfics. From Lady Borden to the colours on the paint... I don't even know why I make sure of it, I just do, I suppose because it gives hints of the real world in there, not that it is happening but it could happen... and you're totally right, I am stringing it out...(best Jonathan Crombie impression here) "Sorry!"**

 **CatieGirl as always I love putting these things in. This story of Gilbert's rebellion and his dad getting sick so soon after was in my mind from the beginning and he was always going to tell Anne it, just like this. It sometimes takes a while for it to be said but it does.**

 **I know there are leaps in here. I'm leaving much to the imagination but I hope with kindred's you like it.**

 **love**

 **Carrots x**

* * *

Gilbert was pretty sure his date to prom was the most beautiful of them all. All the boys went to the Prom in the car together and all the girls did.

One by one the girls got out the limo they had hired.

Of all the changes which had happened senior year, it was perhaps Ruby's which had been the most physical. Her bottle blonde hair had been dyed a more natural chestnut brown she no longer had a deep tan but instead a lighter natural brown to her skin. She had quit the cheer team mid year and had taken interest in politics and chess club, anything to keep her close to Spencer. Her dress was not unlike that of Princess Belle's from Beauty and the Beast which had made sense of Spencer's choice of outfit. His tux was royal blue with gold trimmings his hair in a pompadour comb over. They looked like a very modern up to date beauty and prince Adam. She curtsied as he smiled and slipped a yellow rose corsage to match her dress on her arm.

Next came Josie, she could still have her tantrums but Charlie had been a somewhat calming influence on her. Her style was much the same her dress was the puffiest and the brightest in colour, but Charlie blushed and kissed her hand gently slipping an equally as bright flower corsage onto her arm as he took her by the hand.

Diana was next A sweetheart lined in floral embellishments there were sequins shimmering down to a sheer illusion, a trail of red flowers a full mermaid skirt lined a nude underslip, with a matching shawl. Gilbert watched and saw the word 'wow!' on Fred's lips and he took her by the hand and for her was a corsage of red roses.

Last (and to his relief) came Anne. She had parted from her normal style and was surprised when she told him the colour was a light blue teal colour. He had of course obliged and was glad of his choice when he saw her dress. Again a change in tradition her dress was floor length and sleeveless. The dress was embellished with gold bodice with a long tulle and lace skirt with a floral pattern on the second layer. Her hair was up and back in a low twisted bun, parts were left loose to complete the style. They smiled as they met where looked at her silently for a moment.

"How do I…" she started.

"Beautiful." He said with a smile. "I um, I know its not a flower corsage but…" He slipped it to her and she opened the box. She looked at it and smiled. "My mom had the ribbon and rhinestones…"

"You made this?!" she asked him in shock.

"Yeah, sorry I know its…"

"Perfect!" she exclaimed. There was a silver ribbon on the outside which framed a smaller teal ribbon the middle was covered in rhinestones with a few scattered on it. "Gilbert its gorgeous how did you?" she asked him.

"A glue gun." He said with a smile. "I burnt my hand twice!" he said with a smile, Anne laughed as he slipped it on and they linked arms and walked into the party.

* * *

"Anne?" he asked her after graduation had happened.

"Gil!" She exclaimed happily throwing her arms around him. "We did it!" she exclaimed.

He genuinely smiled "Bring on college so say I!" he said.

"So say we!" she replied pulling back.

"Come with me, just for a few minutes, I have something to show you?" he asked of her.

"Sure." She agreed. He smiled and offered his arm which she took with an intrigued smile on her face.

He took her into his locker but before he opened it he started. "when my dad was really sick he told me all the things he would miss about me, about my life, if he didn't get better." He took a breath "He talked about things later like me getting married and having babies with my wife and being a grandpa…" he said with a smile "but he also told me, he's miss me graduating college and high school." He told her.

"Of course he would." Anne agreed.

"I know Marilla would get you something for graduation and its probably something worthy of the occasion…" he said opening his locker "…but with what dad said…" he took a breath pulling out a wrapped gift "…its not a lot but, happy graduation." He said giving her it.

"Gil!" she exclaimed. "Oh now this isn't fair." She said looking at him. "I didn't get you anything!" she exclaimed.

"Well it isn't really from me." He said thoughtfully. "I was just a vessel to deliver it." He said.

"Criptic?" she looked at him quizzically.

"No, not really." He grinned.

"Can I open it now?" she asked him.

"Sure if you like." He said quietly.

She smiled widely and ripped at the paper. Inside she saw a photo album which was beautifully presented leather bound with gold writing on the front. And a small leather jewellery box "What is this?" she said before she opened it so quickly Gilbert could say nothing. Her eyes widen at a picture of her mother and her father not unlike herself and Gilbert standing in graduation gowns from high school. She looked at Gilbert and asked "How?!"

He smiled nervously and took a breath "When we were in Bolingbrook and we visited the church, I asked the minister to maybe see if any of your parents friends had any old pictures of your mom and and dad I asked him to e-mail them through to me." He said. He took a deep breath. "He's one awesome minister or your parents friends were because he got back to me saying he had a pile of pictures, one or two video clips… originally I thought I'd just tell you what I did when I got one or two pictures but when it ended up being as many as there were, I took the best, the video cassettes, I put them onto a USB stick for you and that little box has in some love letters which I didn't read and some personal trinkets your parents left behind…" he trailed. "And I remembered what my dad said." He took a breath "I know they aren't here physically, but I guessed they thought they'd be here, seeing you graduate. At least this way, they still get to be part of your graduation day."

Anne looked down at the album again mouth wide looking at the pictures of her mom and dad.

"He was right the minister." Gilbert smiled. "You are the spitting image of your mother!" he said.

"Isn't she pretty?" Anne said with a smile to her mother's picture.

"She's beautiful." Gilbert said quietly, not looking at the picture but at Anne herself.

"Except that hair!" Anne asked. "Oh I wish I'd had blonde hair like that!"

"Don't." Gilbert told her a bit too forcibly it made Anne look up at him, he took a deep breath trying to think of the best way to turn the situation round. "I like it." He said then a teasing smile played on his lips "carrots."

She play shoved him and laughed then hugged into him before she said "So, Marilla is taking me out tonight to celebrate I guess your folks will be doing the same?" she asked him to which he nodded " do you want to come around tomorrow and we can look through the pictures together?" she asked him.

"You don't have to do that." Gilbert said to her shaking his head.

"I want you to." Anne said looking at him for a moment then blushing down. "You went to all this effort," she whispered. "For me." She added.

"It was no effort really." He told her genuinely. "Plus there are some really _really_ cute pictures in there of you as a baby, I got to see them!" he teased her.

Anne's eye closed in embarrassment for a second then she laughed into him. She finally looked up and threw her arms around Gilbert the book between them "Thank you." She whispered in his arms. "Gilbert thank you." She whispered before she pulled back. "Please come tomorrow?" she asked of him.

He smiled down at her then bit his bottom lip "The moment you text." He told her.

* * *

"Oh gosh look at you!" Gilbert exclaimed, "no wonder there were so many pictures taken you were a cute baby." He said to her. "I've never seen a baby with so much hair."

"You have no idea what I go through every morning to make this straight." She said flicking her hair.

"I wouldn't bother, I told you before you suit curly hair, would it or loose curls?" he asked her. "Whatever its called you'd suit it.

"Wavy, the term is wavy." She said with a smile to him.

She turned the page to see a cheeky picture of her. Curly red hair tamed somewhat to it becoming flatter but that was not what was so bad. Her head turned over her shoulder she had a cheeky grin on her face her grey eyes sparkling green you could see all the way down her back and legs, ALL the way down. She was completely stark naked. "Oh My Gosh!" she exclaimed her hand flying in front of Gilbert's eyes covering them as he laughed "You can't see that!" she said.

"Anne!" he laughed. "You're forgetting one thing?" he asked her as he took her hands and uncovered his eyes she looked him in the eye. "I put the album together." He said with a laugh to her.

Her face dropped and her face turned a beetroot red " Oh go-" she blushed more.

"I've seen Anne Shirley butt naked, I've seen Anne butt naked!" he teased her.

Anne glared at him before she burst into laughter with him "Don't you dare tell anyone!" she exclaimed before they started laughing again.

"I won't." he finally agreed.

She looked down at the page at her hand went over the page at one of the pictures It was one of her and her mother, Anne snuggled into her mother's small bosom. Her mother wore a white tank top Anne was wearing white sleeping suit her red hair frizzed behind her, but the picture was of them both fast asleep. "Wow." She said softly.

"That one was my favourite." He said with a grin to Anne, "The person who sent it said your dad took it and proudly had it in a picture frame in the house and had dozen of little copies he gave to everyone saying 'this is my wife and daughter', they said he was so proud."

Anne smiled widely at the photo. "Gil this is amazing!" she exclaimed. She turned to the back where she found the USB sticks in the back "did you watch these too?" she asked him.

"I had to, to record them properly, you know they were on the old VHS cassettes? All the pictures the minister sent are on there."

Anne smiled. "Is it good?" she asked him.

"Oh yeah!" he exclaimed as she took it out and put it in her laptop, sitting back beside Gilbert on her bed.

 _"_ _Anne!" she heard her father call. "Hey Anne!" he tried again._

"Daddy." Anne said quietly her eyes went closer to the screen as if she could suddenly see the person filming.

 _The little girl turned towards the camera looking up at it "Dada." She said sweetly, holding a teddy in her hand._

 _"_ _Hey Anne, who's that?" He asked her._

The Anne beside Gilbert looked at the bear. "blue." She said quietly.

 _"_ _Who is it Anne?" her dad asked her again._

 _"_ _lue!" the baby exclaimed then voices could be heard laughing._

 _"_ _Blue?" her father asked._

 _"_ _Ya, Lue!" she said again._

 _"_ _But its not blue, its grey." Her dad said._

 _"_ _Lue!" the baby Anne insisted "Lue Lue!"_

 _"_ _Blue okay." Her dad said. "Anne, what colour is this?" he asked her holding out a blue t-shirt_

 _"_ _Lue." The baby said._

 _"_ _That's right." Her dad had said._

 _"_ _and this?" he asked holding up a blue cloth._

 _"_ _Lue." Anne said._

 _"_ _That's right." Her said confirmed. "And this?" he said holding out something gray._

 _"_ _eI" she said._

 _"_ _That's right grey. So how come your teddy is called blue but he's grey."_

"Its his name." Anne said quietly "not his colour its his name."

"Why did you call him Blue?" Gilbert asked.

"I like the word. Blue, blue." She said with a smile to him "Say it Gil, really say it!"

"Blue." He said slowly his eyes closed. "Blue." He said his lips turning up into a smile as he opened his eyes.

"See?" she asked him.

 _"_ _Lue!" the baby Anne said before the adults in the video laughed again._

 _It cut for a moment before she heard her mother's voice first "Watch this its amazing." She heard her mother say, this time Anne was a little older, two years old. "Anne?" her mother said._

 _"_ _Ya Mama." The little Anne replied._

 _"_ _Say exuberant." Her mother told her._

 _"_ _e-u-bant" the little Anne said._

 _"_ _Clever girl!" her mother told her. "What does it mean Anne?" she asked her._

 _"_ _appy!" the smaller Anne exclaimed._

 _"_ _that's right Anne, happy." Her mother agreed._

 _"_ _I e-u-bant!" The little Anne said._

 _"_ _You're exuberant?" her mother asked with a chuckle.  
"Yeah I e-u-bant." She said her body swaying back and forth._

 _An unknown voice came in the background of the tape "You should get her tested Bertha, I'm telling you she's a genius, no two-year-old should know the word exuberant."_

 _Bertha looked up and smiled "She has big ideas; how are you supposed to communicate big ideas without using big words?" Bertha said her eyes lighting the same way Anne's did._

 _The video cut again to another quiet moment between mother and daughter Bertha rocking her child to sleep Anne's mouth dropped as she heard the words of 'the' song being sang by her mother. The chorus rang through her she gasped at the way she was feeling. There was a pause and her mother whispered to her but was clearly heard by the camera "I love you forever Anne." Anne looked amazed at the laptop as her mother placed her in the cot and started to quietly leave the room. "Walter!" She exclaimed to the camera" turn it off," she reprimanded him._

 _"_ _I want it for Anne's 18_ _th_ _to give to her." He said the camera switching orientation and the two could be seen. "Luckiest man alive!" he exclaimed kissing Bertha on the cheek. "I want her to know what we were like." He smiled at his wife then looked at the camera "Your mother is the sweetest kindest loveliest mother in the world, but then you know that already don't you?" he said to the camera._

 _"_ Yes daddy." Anne whispered at it.

 _"_ _And your daddy is crazy!" Bertha exclaimed_ (which made Anne laugh) _._

 _Walter looked right at the camera and shrugged "I guess it bye for now baby girl." He said before a flash of their feet were shown and the camera switched off._

Anne paused it her heart racing.

"I wasn't sure about the song or.." he started before her arms wrapped around him. "O-K…" he whispered gently.

"You gave me my parents back." She whispered to him. "You gave them to me."

"You like it?" he asked her pulling back from the hug.

"I …. I… words can't describe what I'm feeling right now!" She exclaimed. "Gilbert, thank you."

He smiled "There are more." He admitted. "I just thought you'd like these ones most. You can add to the album there's room and there's room on the USB stick too for some other videos there are more."

"No, Gilbert, its perfect!" she exclaimed. She opened the leather jewerely box and found in there two wedding bands an engagement ring and signet ring with 'A.S' engraved in it.

"Your initials?" he asked her.

"Yes they are." Anne said looking at it for a moment "a coincidence?" she asked.

"I don't know." He admitted.

She pulled out another chain which made her smile and she put the four rings on the chain and put it round her neck. "This way…" she told Gilbert "I can keep them close to me." She said with a smile.

Gilbert smiled back. "That's sweet."

* * *

It was the last week in August, Gilbert and Anne both attending Redmond university in September the pair had barely time to think about it with the upcoming wedding of their now friends Lavender and Stephen.

"I must get used to calling you it, no doubt it'll come in time." Anne said as she was putting up Miss Lewis' hair "though I suppose you won't be Miss Lewis for much longer and I must revert to calling you it."

"I will be confused by being called Mrs Irving, all I can think of is his mother when I hear it." She smiled. "Though I never believed that such happiness could be bestowed on me. I'm truly the happiest women there is." She said with a smile. "And you Anne?" she asked her.

"Me Miss.. Lavender?"

"Yes you Anne Shirley, you seem to have the constant and sought after companionship of a certain young man." She said with a smile.

"Gilbert is my friend." Anne said firmly.

"Stephen is mine." Lavender said to her.

"You know what I mean, its just not like that." Anne said with a little blush.

"Your blush gives you away Anne." Lavender said. "Have you dreamed up what love must be and not recognising it when it hits you right in the face?" she asked her.

"No." Anne insisted.

"Don't throw away what you and Gilbert have Anne." She implored. "Know it study it, realise what it is you have with him. It's so special…" she tried. "So precious, I promise you, you won't find it anywhere else."

Anne was mute for the rest of the time they got ready. The wedding was beautiful and the day as clear. Paul ran to Anne proclaiming although it would have been nice for Anne to be his mother he was glad for the one he had.

"I'll always be here for you Paul if you need me." She told him sweetly.

When the time came for the dance Anne and Gilbert took their place as best man and maid of honour dancing together. Gilbert noticed how quiet she was.

"What are you thinking of, Anne?" asked he.

"Of Stephen and Lavendar" answered Anne dreamily looking over at them. _"Isn't it beautiful to think how everything has turned out . . . how they have come together again after all the years of separation and misunderstanding?"_

 _"Yes, it's beautiful," said Gilbert, looking steadily down into Anne's uplifted face, "but wouldn't it have been more beautiful still, Anne, if there had been NO separation or misunderstanding . . . if they had come hand in hand all the way through life, with no memories behind them but those which belonged to each other?"_

 _For a moment Anne's heart fluttered in her chest, her eyes faltered under Gilbert's gaze and a rosy flush stained the paleness of her face_ he took his lips to her forehead and kissed her there gently, she smiled softly and hid her face next to his heart. She realised this feeling had happened more and more frequently with Gilbert over the past year. Something very strange was happening between her and Gilbert Blythe, although what it was she didn't know.

* * *

Anne and Gilbert arrived back at Green Gables just before eleven and to their surprise was met by Diana and Fred sitting together.

"Oh we've been waiting for hours but we just had to tell you first!" Diana exclaimed. "well after our parents!" Diana continued "and I'm just so excited!"

"Diana slow down." Anne said patiently. "Tell us what?" she asked.

"We're getting married!" Diana exclaimed.

"What?!" Anne exclaimed her eyes wide.


	20. AOTI Chapter 1

**Hi Folks!**

 **I can't believe I'm in AOTI territory already!**

 **Thanks to CatieGirl as I do with you, you do with me, we have half brained ideas and somehow make them into stories and developments in characters. As always my thanks to you!**

 **OriginalMcFishie as always your support is unfailing, even if you're not sure of what I'm doing.**

 **caprubia, queenofthenight82 ineedaname, Kim Blythe thank you for all follow and reviewing, its hard when I don't get reviews because I don't know what people are thinking it, what people want to see and sometimes I can accommodate, so please every keep reviewing!**

 **So here we are chapter 1 AOTI!**

 **love**

 **Carrots**

* * *

She felt movement beside her she didn't bother opening her eyes from under her sunglasses she knew who it was, there was only one other person it could be as they lay down beside her.

"How'd you know where to find me?" she asked him.

"Lucky guess I suppose." He said. She finally turned her head and opened her eyes to find a wide pair of hazel eyes looking at her. "It spooked you last night, didn't it?" he asked her.

"Just getting married at our age is awfully _young_ , don't you think?" Anne asked him.

"For me, yes, absolutely." He said. "But we're not all the same Anne." He said logically. "And you heard what they said they'll be engaged at least two years so Fred can make it through his apprenticeship at the bank anyway."

"I can't believe she wants to marry an accountant."

"Oh now don't be like that, there's nothing wrong with Fred, you like Fred…"

"He's stealing my best friend."

"First off, I hardly think stealing is the right phrase and best friend? What am I your next-door neighbour?"

"She's my best friend for different reasons…" she muttered.

"Hair braids and pillow fights? Boy talk?" Gilbert asked.

"Is that what boys think girls do?" Anne asked.

"I'm sure I can learn to braid hair…" he said with a smile to which Anne chuckled. "And stealing?" he asked.

Anne sighed a sat up to which he followed. "Just we had such high ideals of the men we would marry, Fred is nothing at all like the one Diana wanted to marry."

Gilbert grinned.

"Fred is just good."

"What's wrong with good?" Gilbert asked.

"She wanted to marry someone dashingly handsome who had a secret dark side." Anne huffed.

Gilbert swallowed then looked at her "and what was on your list?"

She sighed then said "That'd be telling." She laughed as he play pushed for her for a moment.

"You know I think for all we had to grow up fast as a consequence we missed out on some of the emotional training you get as a teenager." Gilbert said quietly to her.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"We were busy dealing with all these problems we had some of them very grown up things to deal with. In the meantime our peers were dating and yes sometimes they might have been too young and with the wrong people, but they were learning to deal with the emotional impact of a relationship and balancing it with having friends." He said he put his arm around her "I envy them sometimes."

She sighed and leaned her head in the crook of his arm next to his chest. "Yeah me too." She whispered with a tremor in her voice which meant Gilbert knew Anne was crying "does it scare you too?" she asked him.

"I don't know if scare is the right word exactly." He admitted. "I just wish for things to both slow down and go faster at the same time."

"Oh?" she asked.

"I want to be a doctor now but as well sometimes it would be nice for things to just…" he sighed.

"Stay still." She finished.

"Yeah." He agreed.

"Me too." She whispered.

He sighed and brought her in for a closer hug. " _I won't change. That's the least I can promise you_ Anne."

"Thanks." She whispered. They sat in silence for a few minutes before she said reluctantly "I'm going to have to go and apologise to Diana for last night aren't I?"

* * *

 _"_ _Oh we've been waiting for hours but we just had to tell you first!" Diana exclaimed. "well after our parents!" Diana continued "and I'm just so excited!"_

 _"_ _Diana slow down." Anne said patiently. "Tell us what?" she asked._

 _"_ _We're getting married!" Diana exclaimed._

 _"_ _What?!" Anne exclaimed her eyes wide. There was a thundering silence in the room before Anne burst "You can't!"_

 _"_ _Anne…" Diana started quietly._

 _"_ _You're far too young, what do you think your doing eighteen years old! What one in two marriages end in divorce did you know that? I bet its even more in our age group!" Anne turned to Diana "You can't get married Diana, you barely know Fred."_

 _"_ _I've been dating him for a year and a half Anne I know him plenty."_

 _"_ _Are you pregnant?!" Anne asked aghast._

 _"_ _What?!" Diana asked._

 _"_ _Anne…" Gilbert tried._

 _"_ _Because that's no reason to get married!" Anne told her._

 _"_ _I'm not getting married because I'm pregnant, gosh Anne we take precautions!"_

 _"_ _Anne we won't be getting married for two years at least…" Fred tried._

 _"_ _Oh and there's a lot of difference between an eighteen year old and a twenty year old marrying!" Anne exclaimed._

 _"_ _What is wrong with you!?" Diana exclaimed to her. "I'm happy and you're ruining it!" Diana exclaimed. "We don't all have your social inadequacies Anne Shirley and we don't all go running around and_ _ **flirting**_ _with a boy we have no intention on even dating!"_

 _This had made even Gilbert_ _ **burn**_ _, his cheeks flushed he felt his own temper slipping but Anne beat him to it._

 _"_ _We don't flirt!" Anne exclaimed. "Why would I want to flirt with Gilbert?!"_

 _"_ _Oh its funny you know who I was talking about I didn't even mention a name!" Diana retorted hotly._

 _"_ _Well at least I don't accept marriage proposals just because it's the first one I ever received!" Anne threw back._

 _"_ _That's it!" Diana exclaimed. "We're leaving!"_

 _"_ _Fine with me!" Anne shouted as they left the sitting room before she broke down in tears. Gilbert had immediately sat beside her giving her the shoulder to cry on. She'd cried herself to sleep before Gilbert took her to bed lay her there and kissed her forehead gently._

 _It was only when he got back in his car, Gilbert looked on his phone a whatsapp message from Diana._

 _Di: I never meant to embarrass you Gil, I'm sorry._

 _Gilbert had sighed his head momentarily rested on the steering wheel. His own anger had raised there._

 _He wasn't angry because Diana nor anyone else had noticed they flirted._

 _He was angry at himself for flirting, for making his own feelings so painfully obvious._

 _Over the past year and a bit, he had slowly come to a realisation. At first it was as if he was grasping at it through a veil, he hadn't known his own feelings, his own regards well enough to put his finger on the new-found emotions he was feeling. He had read about love of course, he had crushes before, mostly on the nurses who came to and looked after his dad or particularly pretty girl on the TV, but no one real before, no one he could share himself with, the whole of him. Gradually the veil dropped and the feelings he had were no longer a foreign or strange. It was a real a tangible love. One he could touch with his own fingers and feel in his own arms and the girl he was feeling them with, she was like a vivid dream of colour and life. Those extreme and raw emotions felt during a dream were very real, the colours of red and green grey purple and blue, rich and deep in hue, simulated his senses to a new lease of life. He was real when she was with him._

 _Its true, the old Avonlea saying, he was dead gone on Anne Shirley._

 _But he was Gilbert Blythe, he was painfully careful when it came to showing who he really was to other people. He didn't know how or why it happened, as a child he had been a sociable child. He easily pleased people, he was happy, he was a tease but nothing more then gradually through his dad's illness he noticed, little things, small differences, his act of rebellion as a twelve-year-old was miniscule next to the antics of his friends and the differences were like a gulf which shied him away from his peers. He was still well liked, he was just extremely guarded._

 _He wasn't with Anne._

 _At first, he had no idea why he would share just imitate details of himself with a stranger, but slowly even in the time they weren't really talking, she'd became so familiar to him and this past year only solidified his first opinion of Anne._

 _She was different._

 _He liked different._

 _Because it made them fit together._

 _And her personality, her intelligence, all of the things which made her Anne, he had fallen for hook and sinker._

 _He'd tried with all of him to pinpoint the moment he had fallen in love with her and failed miserably, every time he thought he had found the moment another earlier memory had surfaced debunking the prior moment to just another moment he had loved her._

 _Finally he knew. He'd loved her since 'carrots'. He'd always loved her._

 _Could he really hold it against Diana that she had lost her temper and used it in a moment of weakness._

 _Gil:'You could warn me next time Barry…soon to be Wright ;-) Congratulations.'_

 _Di: 'Thank you Gil, you're so sweet, I'm really really sorry.'_

 _Gil: 'Forget about it Is it really that obvious?'_

 _To which he received a gif with some love heart eyes poking out of Donald Duck._

 _Gil: 'Dang!'_

 _Di: 'Sorry'._

 _Gil: 'Forget about it Di, and Anne will come around, she's just shell shocked.'_

 _Di: 'Tell me something I don't know.'_

* * *

"Yeah." He finally agreed. "Should we meet up with them?' he asked Anne.

She sighed "You're going to stand by me?" she asked him.

"Always." He told her.

* * *

It was Diana who opened the door she stood with her face like stone for a moment before Anne started to talk.

"Is Fred here?" Anne asked her.

"Yes." Diana said plainly.

"Good what I have to say I have to say to you both." Anne said, she didn't miss Diana's eyes flicking up to Gilbert who gave a brief nod.

"Come in." she still said as stiffly.

Anne and Gilbert entered the family room where Fred was sitting quietly. "Gilbert." He said to his friend. "Anne." He acknowledged.

Anne cleared her throat as Diana sat down. "Before I came to Avonlea, things were always changing." She said softly. "Foster homes, schools, so called friends." She said. "And those changes weren't always good." She continued. "I'm not using it as an excuse, but I have an innate need for things to stay the same, and I will fight tooth and claw to keep things the same, you know this I fought against becoming friends with Gilbert and look where it got me." She said with a tried laugh. "My point is, sometimes the very things I fight so hard against, are the very things which should happen and I don't always see that even when it's staring me in the face." She took a breath before she continued "one of those things are the signs we are growing up, happy landmarks I suppose, falling in love, marriage, all seems so grown up and I just… I sometimes need things to stay the same a little longer then everyone else." She looked up from her feet and said "I can bet that out of the 52% marriages that succeed, yours will be one of them." She bit her bottom lip. "I am so sorry for the way I reacted." She said with a tear coming down her cheek "and I just wanted to say…" she said more slowly "congratulations." She managed in a teary whisper.

"Oh Anne!" Diana exclaimed jumping up and hugging her friend. "You ninny, what would make you think this change anything!" she exclaimed, "it's not as if when I get married I'll doff a lace cap and turn into an old lady!" As Diana was hugging Anne, Anne looked up with Gilbert with a raised brow to which Gilbert only managed to hold off a laugh to.

"Fred I mean it to you too." Anne said from in Diana's arms.

"I know." He acknowledged "You'll forgive me, won't you? If I refrain from the hug?" he said with a tease in his smile.

"That would be much appreciated." Anne muffled.

Diana suddenly pulled back "Oh I will miss you Anne." She said with a smile. "I can't believe you're going to university!" she exclaimed. "Both of you!" she said turning to Gilbert. "You'll go and make bosom friends with some girls and boys at university who think and talk like you and forget about your simple friends back in Avonlea." Diana said.

"There's nothing simple about you Diana." Gilbert said with a reassuring smile to her.

"And we'd never forget about you, ever!" Anne assured them. "we'll be back every holiday, won't we Gil?" she asked him.

"That's what friends are made for." He agreed.


	21. AOTI Chapter 2

All quotes from the book are _italicized._

Little fun fact for you when I was "drafting" the AOTI section this was the 'first chapter' for a little while! I'm glad it turned out not to be but it was... it wasn't the first thing I'd written for AOTI though, that comes later... much much later!

Thanks for those still with me. Thank you for my reviews they are always much appreciated...

* * *

"Gil!" Anne called waving a piece of paper in the air as she ran down the field.

"Hey Anne." He said with a smile. "Did you walk down?" he asked her.

"I didn't feel like bringing the truck and it seemed like such a nice day, it's a shame to waste it driving." She said with a smile. "I got a letter from the halls of resident I'm in 'The Star University Village'!" she said finally meeting him half way down the field "Have you got yours?" she asked him.

"I did indeed," he said with a smile "I'm in the star too." He replied.

"Oh that's fantastic!" Anne exclaimed she said her arms going around his neck in delight.

"It is a mixed accommodation." Gilbert said with a smile. "You know Charlie put in for a single sex accommodation. He's still in Star Village but in Pannis House but they have self-contained everything and no common rooms."

"That doesn't seem very interesting I thought half the fun was meeting new people, All mixed together."

"Well Josie didn't want him 'mixing' with any girls, I think he felt forced into it." Gilbert admitted.

"Well, a noble sacrifice I guess, but Charlie is a crowd pleaser, however will he manage?"

"He's started to call it his 'condo'" Gilbert said with a laugh "so I'm guessing in a Sloane-ish kind of way." He looked to Anne "Do you think they've put us together?" he asked her, "Which Block and flat are you in?" he asked her.

Anne looked down at her papers "Block 4 flat 20." Anne said.

"Flat 18." Gilbert said with a smile.

"Oh Gil!" she squealed with delight "we'll be practically neighbours!"

He smiled at the prospect, of course he had no reason to hope of always being with Anne, but to be so close to her, being able to have that option, it did give a boy reason to be optimistic! "How's packing going?"

Anne sighed dramatically as they walked down the field. "Oh Gil, every time I think I have everything I need something else pops up." She laughed, "and then when we're out we STILL manage to find more things."

"That's true enough." He admitted. "I sometimes find I'm buying two of the same thing, just because I remember thinking 'I must buy that' but not actually remembering if I bought it or not then buying it anyway and finding when I get home I did actually buy it."

"Well maybe you'll make up for any of my errors." She said with a smile. "I will be welcome won't I?" she asked him. "You won't be too busy flirting with other girls…"

"Other?" he questioned. "so what we do is flirting then?" he teased to which he received a playfully shove as he laughed.

"You know what I mean." She said going serious again. "People our age, they have hook ups and tinder and…"

"I promised you I wouldn't change remember?" he said to her putting his arm around her shoulders then pecking her in her hair.

"You promise?" she asked him.

He grinned at her and couldn't believe with his arm around her the fact he had just kissed into her hair she could still ask that question. "Upon my word of honor as a knight in a mini." He said with a laugh as she did. "You're just fed up with packing." He said practically "Fancy a walk?" he asked her as they reached the house. "I want to show you something which should be there."

"Should be!" she exclaimed as she looked up at him with a laugh. "Don't you know if its there?"

"No. I only know it should be, from something I saw there in spring." He said with an air of mystery.

"Alright," she laughed.

To Anne, it seemed _they were sauntering through the shadows of the Haunted Wood_ , but Gilbert had a look on his face which read he knew what he was doing so all Anne could do was trust he knew what he was doing.

"A couple of weeks after I moved here, Marilla let Diana and me camp out in the wood." Anne told Gilbert "We made up ghost stories." Anne laughed.

"I bet yours were imaginative." He said with a smile.

"Diana said she was so afraid after my dramatic story she simply couldn't sleep, but I know she did, I heard her snoring." Anne said very matter of factly to which Gilbert laughed Anne's eyes going wide "Oh don't tell Diana I told you she snored!"

"It doesn't matter to me now does it?!" Gilbert continued to laugh. "I wonder if that's why Fred looks so tired whenever she sleeps there?"

"It better be the only reason!" Anne exclaimed, to which he fell silent but Anne soon picked up the conversation "This wood really is haunted now—by memories," said Anne, stooping to gather a spray of ferns.

 _The woods around the head of the marsh were full of purple vistas, threaded with gossamers. Past a dour plantation of gnarled spruces and a maple-fringed, sun-warm valley_ they found the "something" Gilbert was looking for.

 _"Ah, here it is," he said with satisfaction._

 _"An apple tree—and away back here!" exclaimed Anne delightedly._

 _"Yes, a veritable apple-bearing apple tree, too, here in the very midst of pines and beeches, a mile away from any orchard. I was here one day last spring and found it, all white with blossom. So I resolved I'd come again in the fall and see if it had been apples. See, it's loaded. They look good, too—tawny as russets but with a dusky red cheek. Most wild seedlings are green and uninviting."_

 _"I suppose it sprang years ago from some chance-sown seed," said Anne dreamily. "And how it has grown and flourished and held its own here all alone among aliens, the brave determined thing!"_

 _"Here's a fallen tree with a cushion of moss. Sit down, Anne—" he said playfully to her presenting her at the seat "it will serve for a woodland throne. I'll climb for some apples. They all grow high—the tree had to reach up to the sunlight."_

 _The apples proved to be delicious. Under the tawny skin was a white, white flesh, faintly veined with red; and, besides their own proper apple taste, they had a certain wild, delightful tang no orchard-grown apple ever possessed._

"Oh I forgot to tell you, I did manage to stay in contact with one of the girls I went to school with from my last school she was nice, I think you'd like her, her name is Pris Grant and she is going to Redmond, too," she exclaimed.

"That's exciting." Gilbert said with a grin to her eating his own apple. "I think I'd like to know what Anne Shirley was like before she met Avonlea." He said. "How long were you in that school for?" he asked her.

"Six months." She said with a sigh. "Though that was while I was in the orphanage, well the 'care home' same thing, like anyone cares." He nodded in sympathy because he could do little else. "Can we change the subject?" she asked him.

"Sure, well I'll be glad to meet your friend in any case." He admitted. "I think we'll like Kingsport," said Gilbert. _"it boasts the finest natural park in the world. I've heard that the scenery in it is magnificent. We'll be exploring for hours."_ He said with a smile to her.

" _I wonder if it will be—can be—any more beautiful than this_ ," murmured Anne, looking around her with the loving, enraptured eyes of those to whom "home" must always be the loveliest spot in the world, no matter what fairer lands may lie under alien stars.

"I suppose it can't really, not to those who call this home. You know what they say about home?" he asked her with a grin.

"No place like it." She smiled. "No, I guess not, its so nice Gilbert, to be going away from somewhere to live somewhere else but think of the place I'm leaving as 'home'."

Gilbert grinned slightly "Yes, I can see that would be nice." There was a marked silence between them before he said "Do you want to go back around the marsh and home by way of Lover's Lane?" he asked. "We can pop back to my house before we go to Green Gables." He said pulling her up, their hands keeping tangled in the others. " _Do you feel as disgruntled now as when you started out, Anne?"_

 _"Not I. Those apples have been as manna to a hungry soul. I feel that I shall love Redmond and have a splendid four years there."_

 _"And after those four years—what?"_

 _"Oh, there's another bend in the road at their end," answered Anne lightly. "I've no idea what may be around it—I don't want to have. It's nicer not to know."_

Although, he smile and nodded his head he only wished she saw him there. "Well in order to greet the future I'll buy you a bouquet of your favourite flowers for graduation."

She looked at his quizzically "You know my favourite flowers?" she asked him.

"I do that." He admitted. "Lily of the Valleys."

She looked surprised at him before she said "well yes they are, but how do you know that?"

He grinned and pressed his forefinger to his nose a couple of times "A man must have his secrets."

She laughed for a moment before she said "You promise flowers?" she asked him.

"Upon my honour." He said taking hold of her hand.

"Anne!" Mrs Blythe called to her with a wave as they came in from the woods. "Are you staying for a spot of evening tea?" she asked her moving the cat from her lap.

"Oh I wasn't planning on…" Anne started as she sat and another kitten purred at her and jumped on her lap as she sat.

"I don't know you." Anne said to the kitten.

"A new one." Mrs Blythe chuckled.

"Oh, number nine?" Anne asked to which Mrs Blythe laughed. "Well I thought Mr Blythe said…"

To which Gilbert put her finger to his mouth and shushed her to which she looked confused at him.

"Dad doesn't know." Gilbert laughed.

Anne's mouth formed a 'o' and then looked to Mrs Blythe "hasn't he noticed?" Anne asked with a sweet laugh.

"I think they've all blended into one." Mrs Blythe laughed.

"And what's your name?" she asked the kitten.

"I can't decide." She said to Anne. "We've only had him two days."

"Let's see," Anne smiled looking at the cat, "You're a proper cat aren't you? You look like a tiger or a lion, lets see… Oh Felidae!" she exclaimed.

"As in Feline?" Mrs Blythe asked.

"Yes, it's the same thing." Anne agreed.

"Felidae." Mrs Blythe smiled. "I've got some nice Earl Grey in, I know you and Gilbert both prefer your tea."

"Well yes we do…" Anne tried again.

"And I have those shortcake biscuits you like so much."

Anne fought a smile. Mrs Blythe was always trying to feed her. "Thank you, Mrs Blythe, I'll just call Marilla and let her know I'll be staying, if that's okay?"

Mrs Blythe nodded. "You know, Gilbert got his place in Star University Village."

"Yes, I know." She acknowledged. "It turns out we'll just be a couple of flats away from each other."

"We'll probably have the same common room." Gilbert chirped in.

"Oh that'll be nice dear." She said to the both. "I'll have someone to keep an eye on my son, he's quite the joker and he can offend where none is intended. Would you keep an eye on him Anne, he's always so much better behaved with you around?"

Gilbert was looking at Anne unbeknown to Anne but plainly obvious to his mother, as she sat on the veranda . She wore a loose but pretty White Off the Shoulder Dip Hem Top and a pair of jeans shorts which would make Josie green with envy, Gilbert had noticed of course, in his eyes, Anne suited that style of jeans so much better than… anyone. Her hair was let loose down her back with the exception of two small pieces one on either side of her ears which kept her hair from her face, with her slender delicacy, she made him think of a white iris.

Gilbert saw his mother noticing and quickly amended his thoughts, inside his mind with a pang of self-destruction he thought 'I wonder if she'll ever love me.'

Mr Blythe came in from the fields and sat in the chair next to his wife. "Ah Anne." He greeted.

"Anne's in the Star University Village too!" Mrs Blythe said with a smile to her husband.

"That's good, keep him out of trouble." Mr Blythe said, to which Anne burst out laughing.

"Oh come on!" he exclaimed. "I'm not that bad!"

"We're teasing son." Mrs Blythe said.

"You know if you're going to the same place…" Mr Blythe started. "We're driving down there Anne, if you like, the truck is too big for just Gilbert's things, we're taking him anyway…" Mr Blythe said shyly. "If you can stand being in the truck that long with us? I have some business in Kingsport so I'm staying the week, can give you a lift back so you can drive your own car down the next weekend when it won't be as full."

Anne smiled "That's very kind Mr Blythe, thank you I think I will." She admitted.

"You'll skype with Gilbert won't you Anne?" Mrs Blythe asked her. "At least every once in a while, we'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, I think if Gilbert won't mind, I'll pop in every once in a while." She said with a smile. She suddenly remembered "Excuse me a minute, won't you? I need to call Marilla let her know I won't be home for evening meal." Anne stood and took her phone around the corner.

Mrs Blythe looked to her son "are you sure you two are 'just friends'?" she asked him innocently.

Mr Blythe looked confused at the new kitten and stated "is that a new cat?" he asked.

"No!" Mrs Blythe said her eyes going wide "we've had him ages."

"Ages?" Mr Blythe asked. "His name?" he asked knowing it took her months to name a cat.

"Felidae." Mrs Blythe replied.

"Felidae?" he asked.

"Yep." She told him looking at him innocently.

He shook his head picking up the cat and said "welcome to the family son." He told it.

Gilbert laughed and his mother reached up and kissed her father. "Thank you dear."


	22. AOTI Chapter 3

"You'll take care of her won't you Gilbert?" Davy asked Gilbert as they stood outside of Green Gables as Anne loaded the last of her things into the truck.

That morning had be a combination of Davy refusing to acknowledge Anne's leaving to him dramatically whining then finally the floods of tears as Gilbert and his dad pulled up in the truck.

"Upon my honor." Gilbert said with a smile to Davy, his hand lifted in the hair, squared beside him as a sign of his code of honor and a hug.

"We'll Skype Davy its not as if you'll never see us again." Anne said reassuringly.

"Oh Anne!" Thea cried throwing her arms around Anne. "I'll miss you!"

Anne chuckled "I'm going to be back this weekend!" Anne exclaimed. "And I'll be sure to Skype every night you'll barely know that I've gone."

John watched as Anne cuddled into Marilla. "Take care Anne." Marilla managed, Marilla looked to John and said "take care of her make sure she's all settled in?" she asked of him.

John looked at Marilla with meaning and said "Like she was our own." They stood in silence for a moment everyone wondering what was going on before John said. "We better leave, if we're staying a head of the traffic."

It wasn't until they were clearing Avonlea that Gilbert looked over at Anne on the other side of the back seat.

 _"_ _You are very quiet, Anne," said Gilbert at last._

 _"_ _I'm afraid to speak or move for fear all this wonderful beauty will vanish just like a broken silence," breathed Anne._

Gilbert laid his hand over the slender white one lying on the seat between them. His hazel eyes deepened into darkness, he wanted to say something of the dream which he thought would maybe sooth her in the moment, but the words wouldn't come. Instead they sat in silence for a moment before they passed the sign for leaving Avonlea.

 _"_ _Well, we're off," remarked Gilbert,_ Anne thought unsentimentally.

 _"_ _Yes, I feel like Byron's 'Childe Harold'—only it isn't really my 'native shore' that I'm watching," said Anne, winking her gray eyes vigorously. "Nova Scotia is that, I suppose. But one's native shore is the land one loves the best, and that's good old P.E.I. for me. I can't believe I didn't always live here._ Those seventeen years before I came seem like a bad dream. Some better then others, some —" she shivered _"Oh, Gilbert, I do hope I'll like Redmond and Kingsport, but I'm sure I won't!"_

 _"_ _Where's all your philosophy gone, Anne?"_

 _"_ _It's all submerged under a great, swamping wave of loneliness and homesickness. I've longed for so long to go to University—and now I'm going—and I wish I weren't! Never mind! I shall be cheerful and philosophical again after I have just one good cry."_

Gilbert sighed and looked seriously at her for a moment before he unbuckled himself from his seat and he moved to the middle seat right next to her, he buckled the seatbelts and put his arm around her. He soon felt his t-shirt becoming damp, he knew she would. She didn't have to go through this alone, he decided. She was used to leaving somewhere yes, but she wasn't used to leaving 'home'.

He soon pulled out his phone and shared his headphones with her as his father drove them to Kingsport.

* * *

The two friends headed up Block 4 to find their flats which were next door to each other. They smiled as entered their rooms "At least I know where to find you." Gilbert said with a wink to Anne. They opened their individual doors and went in.

To everyone else the room was nothing special, in fact for the most part they were identical. Anne would soon realise how similar they all were when she would visit Gilbert's room in the multiable room visits getting all of their stuff in, but as she looked round the small room she felt its freedom, it was hers.

The whole room as no bigger the 20 feet squared but to her it was amazing. On her left lay a bookshelf and desk with a set of draws against the left wall the bed just beyond the draws. There was a small bed side table then a sofa chair immediately in front of the window in front of her. To her right lay the small square bathroom (to Anne's relief a bath was in there. On the wall from the bathroom was a small kitchenette with her own fridge and an oven. Anne sat on the edge of the bed and sighed in a strange sort of relief.

She was here. She wanted to go to university for such a long time, she'd been told she was useless, unwanted, unloved, stupid and unimportant. She'd been through so much to get here. In a freak twist of fate she had been sent to Green Gables instead of a boy. She'd heard Matthew and Marilla arguing the night she arrived though it was unlike any argument she had ever seen before, there was no shouting just a difference in opinion.

 ** _"_** ** _We can't keep her Matthew." Marilla had said._**

 ** _"_** ** _Maybe we can." He said quietly. "She's so set on it…"_**

 ** _"_** ** _It doesn't mean she can_**

 ** _"_** ** _She's never had a home…" he continued._**

 ** _"_** ** _That's a shame I'll give you that but we aren't equipped for a girl. We were ready for a boy." Marilla continued._**

 ** _"_** ** _She's sixteen." Matthew said. "We might be that girls last chance of a family."_**

 ** _Marilla had fell silent at this, she knew it was the case. "We were never meant to be her family."_**

 ** _"_** ** _Well maybe fate is trying to tell us something by bringing her here." Matthew said to her. "Maybe we can give her a trial for a while, see how it goes."_**

 ** _"_** ** _I don't want to get her hopes up of staying." Marilla told him._**

 ** _"_** ** _Just…" Matthew said to her, "see how it goes."_**

 **Marilla has sighed at the time agreeing to it.**

* * *

 ** _Once Gilbert had left the night Matthew died Anne and Marilla went back to Green Gables._**

 ** _"_** ** _we'll need to go back in the morning, and start to sort things out." Marilla told her._**

 ** _"_** ** _Sure." Anne had managed softly._**

 ** _"_** ** _You…" Marilla continued "…you sure have some good friends Anne, Diana…" she said "and Gilbert."_**

 ** _"_** ** _I know." Anne replied._**

 ** _"_** ** _He's like his father." Marilla said to her and Anne looked confused. "Gilbert he's like his father." She confirmed. "Not just in looks but he's very very kind."_**

 ** _"_** ** _Yeah." Anne said tears still falling from her eyes._**

 ** _Marilla nodded. "You should go to sleep."_**

 ** _"_** ** _I can't." Anne squeaked._**

 ** _Marilla came to her and put her arms around Anne. "I know you think I didn't want you, it wasn't that. I've never been good at showing my feelings, they've never been close to the surface." She said tears actually coming from her eyes. "I couldn't bear it if you thought, I really didn't care."_**

 ** _"_** ** _You wanted to keep me?" Anne asked wide eyed._**

 ** _Marilla gave a weak smile "I knew for certain the day I heard you broke that slate over Gilbert's head."_**

 ** _Anne burst a giggle "I thought the trial was over, I thought you'd send me back."_**

 ** _"_** ** _You showed sass." She said. "I never could resist sass." Marilla shrugged "Plus I think from today, you've made up with Gilbert?" she asked._**

 ** _"_** ** _I…" Anne admitted. "I don't know." She said._**

 ** _"_** ** _Oh?" Marilla asked._**

 ** _"_** ** _I think he just felt sorry for me." She said quietly._**

 ** _"_** ** _Don't throw it away Anne, he's a good lad from a good family, has he not done enough to earn your forgiveness?"_**

 ** _"_** ** _Yes, he has." Anne admitted "Probably a hundred times over." Anne sighed. "I'll try and make it up to him when I get… back to sch…" Anne started but couldn't finish the sentence. Marilla pulled her in for a hug._**

 ** _"_** ** _You don't have to go back straight away." She said quietly. "We'll see won't we?" Marilla asked her. "We'll make it through, won't we?" she asked. "Together?"_**

* * *

Anne smiled looking around the room, she heard a knock at the door.

"Come in." She said knowing it could only be Gilbert. He came in the room. "Room service!" Gilbert teased as he came through the door with a rug and one of her bags in tow. He looked around. "Nice!" he said with a smile. "mine is a mirror image." He told her.

"It's very efficient." Anne agreed. "I like the pine wood, but its not very pretty." She said.

"Well that's why you're here." He said putting the items down. "Put your stamp on the place, it has potential."

"You always see potential." She said with a grin to him.

"There usually is." He said he said putting his hand out "Do you want to come down and help unload?" he asked her.

"Sure." She smiled. "Lets get moved in."

They headed down together and then saw Charlie on the other side of the courtyard outside. "I'll go say 'hello'." Gilbert said to Anne before he jogged over to greet him. It was then Anne saw a group of girls come out of the door behind her, as she was loading up herself with bags she heard their conversation.

"Whose that?!" One exclaimed.

"Look at those curls." Another said. "Haven't you always wanted a boy with curls."

"He's hot." Another said. "Look at that body, do you think he works out?"

"Oh he would have to." The first one said.

"What do you think of his friend there?" the second said.

"He's might have been as handsome were it not for those goggley eyes." The first said.

"That's mean!" The third chirped in. "I wonder If they're single."

Anne rolled her eyes. Apparently coming to university did not mean getting away from girls like that. She took a load of her own items up then visited Gilbert in his room.

"They aren't too imaginative with the layout are they?" Anne laughed.

He chuckled back. "No I suppose not, but they are well-organized." He said, putting up a large multi picture frame. Anne looked at the pictures in it, several were from high school. One picture was his parents which she smiled at, he had centred them in the multi frame. A group picture with them Josie and Charlie, Fred and Diana, Ruby and Spencer, Moody and Jane and Gilbert and Anne, it had been a candid one so they had all been arm in arm in a semi-circle smiling at the camera. One of the football team and one of him and Charlie as they had celebrated Gilbert's offer of scholarship both Charlie and Gilbert fresh off the field in their football gear, sweat still on their faces but they both had smiled widely. The last in the five frames was one she knew must have been taken at prom though she knew they weren't posed, but she knew the moment from the picture. She had a smile on her face she was looking off centre to the left of the picture so it was possible neither one of them knew the picture was being taken. Her head was tilted towards Gilbert who was smiling after he just finished whispering a secret to her. She looked at it in amazement for a moment before he said "Moody sent it to me a couple of days ago, he said he thought I should have a copy, I like it so much I printed it, I thought it was…"

"…the picture of us together." She snapped out of her gaze… "I mean…"

"Yeah." He smiled in agreement.

"I have a digital photo frame, it changes from picture to picture." She smiled. "From my online account." She said then looked at the picture again "I like it." She confirmed.

"So do I." he smiled.

"Just you and me." She observed, "I mean the others all…"

"Because you're my best friend." He blurted and she looked at him then smiled.

"You too Blythe."

* * *

Two hours later Anne walked down the corridor to the common room. She was interested to see if anyone was hanging out there and Gilbert said he would be along in a minute. She walked in and the room was busy people bustling around each other. Anne felt as though she should turn and run it looked more like a party then a common room when she saw a very pretty girl with silky brown hair and deep brown eyes come towards her, the girl flash a lopsided but pretty smile at Anne before she could turn.

"Hi." Anne said tentatively.

"Hi." The girl said. "I'm Philippa Gordon." She introduced herself. "But all my friends call me Phil." She said. "So let's be friends from the off you look interesting."

"Anne." She said with a hesitant smile before the girl linked arms with her and brought her deeper into the room

"Flat 43." Phil told her.

"You're not too far from me, I'm flat 20." Anne said with a smile.

"We're practically neighbours then." She said with a smile. "I'm from Bolingbrook." Phil said "And you?"

"Bolingbrook?!" Anne exclaimed. "Well I was born there and I visited for a few hours last summer, but I'm an Islander."

"Oh I simply adore the red sands of PEI." Phil admitted. "and if you're from Bolingbrook then we might as well be sisters." She said with a laugh. She sighed and looked round the room. "There's not much talent is there?" Phil said in a way that Anne now knew she had been one of the girls from earlier. "There was one boy who was simply divine but he was talking to a friend whose eyes were out here." She said with a sigh and Anne tried her best not to let her eyes roll. "Oh I know I seem shallow." Phil told her "but I'm honestly not." She sighed "I have heaps of brains, I was valedictorian at high school its just I'm a crowd pleaser too and other girls like talking of boys."

"I'd rather not, if that's okay." Anne said to her.

"You are going to be interesting aren't…" She started then she spotted Gilbert as he came into the room. "That's him!" Phil whispered to Anne as she turned her back to the door.

Gilbert smiled their way and came over to Phil's complete astonishment.

"Someone down the hall said they would order in takeaways tonight, see which ones are best in town." Gilbert told Anne then looked to Phil, "Made a friend already?" Gilbert asked.

"You _know_ each other?" Phil asked.

"Phil can I introduce you to my best friend Gilbert Blythe, Gil this is Philippa Gordon, she prefers to be called Phil and is a crowd pleaser."

"Pleased to meet you." Gilbert said his hand going out in front of him for a handshake. Phil laughed at the hand and he pulled it back.

"So you'll know goggle eyes too?" Phil asked.

"Charlie?" Gilbert whispered to Anne to which she nodded.

"He has a girlfriend." Anne said.

"You do?" She asked Gilbert.

"No Charlie does." Gilbert corrected.

"I see, and you…" she said with her best winning smile which charmed most boys.

"I…" he said suddenly stuttering. "Um…" he sighed "it's not like I'm not…"

"Gil is a very busy man." Anne said trying to get him out of the hole she knew he felt himself in. "In high school, he was captain of everything and student body president no doubt at first chance he'll build up his portfolio again." Anne tried for him.

"I see." Phil said with a look at Gilbert as if she was trying to work him out.

"Did you see the noticeboard?" Anne asked him. "There's a freshers fair on tomorrow and a freshers ball on Friday."

"That sounds good." Gilbert admitted. "Lets go to the ball together?" he asked her.

"Oh yes please!" Anne exclaimed. "Its always better when you're comfortable with at least one person." She turned to Phil "Don't you think?"

"Yes I do." Phil said as if she was still trying to work out the dynamic between the two. "I'm going with some girlfriends I met on our floor." She admitted.

"Should we head round there tomorrow?" he asked Anne, then looked to Phil before saying "You're welcome to join us."

"Sure, we can see which clubs we want to join." Anne said with an excited smile and she looked to Phil.

"Ah, why not, I think I shall like you two." She admitted.


	23. AOTI Chapter 4

Hi Folks,

I'll be honest with you, this week there's only an update to this story, so I've given you two chapters!

sorry, It's been busy 2 birthdays in the last week 2 swimming lessons 2 visits to the in-laws house one school trip... phew! Normal services will resume next week

love

Carrots x

* * *

There was no question on whether or not Gilbert would sign up for the football team. He had the scholarship through them of course he would sign up. He went to the table, he noticed was one of the biggest there.

"Gilbert Blythe." Gilbert smiled as he reached the front of the line. The lad no more than a couple of years Gilbert's senior looked to him.

"I was told to look out for you." He said with a smile. "James Lee." He said with a smile shaking his hand. "You don't need to sign up you're already on the team." He said with a smile. "But…" he said bringing out a kit with Gilbert's name attached.

"How did you manage that?" Phil asked them.

"He has a scholarship through football." Anne said quietly to her.

Phil almost swooned, "You mean he has brains and looks like that?" she asked Anne before she turned to Gilbert "are you rich too?" she asked him.

Anne simply giggled slightly before Gilbert said "I wouldn't need a scholarship if I were rich now would I?" he asked her.

"Your jersey and pads." He said with a smile to him. "I was told by coach you were something really special on the field." He said by way of conversation.

"Oh, Um, well…"

"Oh he is!" Anne chirped in. "You don't want to listen to Gilbert about this he's far too humble of his own abilities." Anne told him.

The boy looked to her as of amazed. Gilbert simply smiled Anne seemed to have that effect on everyone.

The trio looked at many clubs and societies, Anne signing up to debate and drama, Gilbert the football team and debate and Phil the 'high society club' though both Anne and Gilbert had a private laugh at the name, the group attended highbrow events which seemed to interest Phil and the college conservatives. The three seemed happy with signing up for two at first, they all agreeing they probably shouldn't sign up for much more as they didn't want to overload their workload. Phil stopped them at the cheerleading stall and said to Anne. "Oh, we should sign up just for the laughs." She said signing her own name for it.

Anne looked at her a little disgusted at the idea. "No thank you." She said her nose turning up slightly as she turned to look for Gilbert who had fallen behind the, to see someone give Gilbert, what looked like a business card before the boy slipped away into the crowds. Gilbert looked half intrigued at the card before Anne came and asked him "What's that you got there?" she asked.

"Oh, it's a card for a fraternity." He said.

"I didn't know you were going for the fraternities?" she asked him.

"I didn't they approached me." He said looking at the card again, by which time Phil had joined them again.

"Oh, which Fraternity?" Phil asked "Oh the lambs!" she exclaimed. "Oh, Gilbert you must!" she exclaimed.

Gilbert looked up surprised and challenged her "Must I?" he asked. "Why?"

"The lambs are the utmost elite of fraternities, no one is _approached_ and in their first year too!"

"How did they even know who I was?" Gilbert exclaimed. "I didn't make myself known to anyone?"

"Because they are the best." Phil told him. "My cousin tried desperately to get into the lambs for three years!"

"I'm not in, so to speak but they want me to audition for a spot." Gilbert said putting the card in his wallet. "I have until next week to decide, nothing to worry about for now." Gilbert smiled. "Can I have your fine companies for a burger? I believe we have some money off vouchers in here." He said picking up his orientation pack from the fair. "I intend on cashing in on each one." He said with a smile.

"Here here!" Anne exclaimed taking the offer of his arm.

* * *

Gilbert had gone to the bathroom while Phil and Anne sat and talked.

"You know I'm quite taken with your Gilbert." Phil said offhandedly, it was true she was, he was the handsomest man by far in the whole building had heaps of brains but she was looking for a reaction from Anne.. "I'm sure we'd make a beautiful couple." She said as she saw Anne shift uncomfortably in her chair. "and all the truly talented doctors turn out rich." She proclaimed. "What say you Queen Anne?" she asked her.

"I wouldn't mention the money if I were you, I don't think money grabbers are Gilbert's type." Anne remarked.

Phil's mouth nearly dropped to the floor. Was Anne just not interested in him at all? How could he not be her type?! 'Well' she resolved in her own mind 'if Anne doesn't want him…' she thought as he came back.

* * *

It was a week later when Gilbert was knocking frantically on Anne's door. Anne opened it to find Gilbert there "what on earth is wrong with…" she started.

"Lemme in!" he exclaimed holding his laptop. "Quick quick!" he said almost pushing past her. "Shut the door!" he whispered. She let go of the door letting it close.

"Hello Gilbert, how's your classes been?" she said her face and body now talking to the shut door. "Well thank you, how gentlemanly of you to ask yes it has been fun, won't you come in?" she said then turned and looked at him as he sat on the sofa she sat next to him.

"Thank the stars above she didn't see!" Gilbert exclaimed.

"Is that?..." she started looking. "Is that the CCTV camera's outside the rooms?"

"Yes." He said quietly "and try to whisper so she can't hear us." He told her.

"Who?" Anne said looking again seeing Phil heading up towards his room and seeing the knock on the screen just after faintly hearing it outside. "Are you avoiding Phil?" she asked him.

"I think…" he started then amended himself "…I mean it's going to sound cocky, but I think she's hitting on me." He whispered. "I figured out I have twenty seconds from her getting to the end of this corridor." He said pointing at one of the now blank corridors but was the only one which lead down their part of the building. "Before my bedroom is in sight and your bedroom is right next to mine, I have nowhere else to go!" he exclaimed. Before they heard a knock at Anne's door. He looked to the camera which showed Phil was now standing at Anne's door. "Anne please?!" he whispered. Anne rolled her eyes and whispered.

"In the kitchen, she can't see if from my door." She said he smiled then kissed her on her forehead before he jumped up and hid there. On her way past she opened her laptop and the screen lit up and she opened the book next to it before she answered it. "Oh hi Phil!" she exclaimed as if it were a surprise to see her.

"Hello Queen Anne." She said casually. "I don't suppose you know where Gilbert is, do you?" she asked her.

"Gilbert?" Anne questioned. "Well he's timetabled into study time, I've never known Gilbert to stray from it."

"I know." Phil said holding up her phone, "I took pictures of his timetable in order to know when he's home."

Anne looked at her in disbelief. "That's a little creepy Phil."

Phil sighed "it's a stratagem Anne, you might learn from sweetie," she said with a smile so Anne knew she wasn't being mean, "You know where he is and then you accidentally 'bump' into him 'Oh!'" she faked. "'Fancy meeting you here! I didn't know you came here… Oh its your favourite? Mine too. it must be fate!'"

Anne rolled her eyes and almost felt Gilbert's roll from behind her. "That can't work?!" Anne exclaimed.

"Oh your Gilbert is such a sweetheart, I swear I saw him come in only fifteen minutes ago?!" Anne looked at her again wondering how she could know that "Oh my window points out to the courtyard I see everyone coming and going, unless they use the doors in the common room to come in."

"The common room doors." Anne said with a smile. "Well he is prone to libraries when it's not bedroom study."

"A library?" Phil asked.

"Yes." Anne said looking at her confused. "You know the big old buildings with lots of books, tables and computers…" Anne continued.

"And if he went out a common room door I wouldn't have seen him leave, it would make sense if he was going around in a circle." She said.

"It's logical." Anne said nodding.

"I was hoping he'd take me to the Victorian dance next week." She said deflated. "I've been dropping hint left right and centre for him to pick up on and he simply won't pick up on me."

Anne sighed for Phil and then said "He's not one for picking up on hints very easily." Anne smiled.

"No man is." Phil agreed. "What are you up to?" she asked her.

"I was just about to get started on my studying." Anne said to her. "As you see." She said pointing to her own computer.  
"Ah well, I can do with less of that." Phil sighed. "I'll see you later Queen Anne." Phil said offhandedly.

"Bye!" Anne said as she saw Phil part way down the corridor then closed her door.

Anne laughed as Gilbert peered around the corner. "Is she gone?" He asked.

"She's gone." Anne said rolling her eyes.

He sighed sitting himself on her sofa again. "Thanks." He said to Anne.

"I don't understand why you don't just tell her you're not interested." Anne told him.

"I don't want to hurt her feelings." Gilbert told her as she settled beside him her legs over his legs.

"Bwok, bwak bwak bwak!" She mocked her arms flapping like a chicken.

He laughed himself. "I'm not being ridiculous, right? She is coming onto me?" he asked her.

"Yeah she is." Anne confirmed.

"Oh man!" he exclaimed his head going back resting on the sofa behind him.

"I told you it would happen here." She said to him.

"Come with me to the dance?" he asked her, Anne opened her mouth to object before he asked again. "Come on Anne please?!" he asked her.

"Fine!" Anne exclaimed. "You better make it worth my while." She muttered playfully.

He looked at her and said "I feel like I've not seen you all week." He said looking at her.

"I know." She said. "Hey how did you hack into the CCTV?" she asked him

"I have a few contacts in the computer science department, they wanted to show off to the dumb jock, so I let them." He said with a chuckle to which she joined in "I don't think they quite caught on that I was memorising what they were doing."

Anne rolled her eyes "Oh, did you get back to that fraternity?" She asked him.

"I'm heading there at eight." Gilbert said with a smile. "They said there was an initiation." He said slightly nervous.

"Oh?" Anne said with a smile. "What do you think it'll be?" she asked.

"I have no idea!" he exclaimed.

* * *

It was ten by the time Anne heard a knock at her door. Already in her pyjamas she opened her door and to her surprise saw Gilbert standing there with another man next to him, but that wasn't what was strange, he stood there, in a full Victorian ball gown with puffed sleeves, the dress was several lengths too short for him and the bonnet was one of the old lace ones which sat on the head.

"Anne Shirley?" The other man asked.

"Yes?" she said.

"My name is Michael Ramsay." He said with a smile to her "I'm a member of the lambs." She smiled at him. "You know Gilbert?" he asked her.

"Um yeah?" she said looking at him quizzily.

"You might know he's going for a spot in the fraternity?" he asked.

"Sure he said he was." Anne said.

"We need your help." Michael told her. "In order to go to the next stage Gilbert needs to complete this task he says you're the only one who he could be around 24 hours." Michael looked at her "Are you his girlfriend?" he asked.

"Is that what you said?" Anne asked him.

"No, I said you'd vouch for me wear this…" Gilbert said gathering the dress which Anne now sat had petticoats on under to which she laughed. "Just don't leave me for 24 hours."

"What can I do?" Anne asked looking unbelievingly at them.

"Stay with him is all, he can leave you to use the bathroom and he's allowed a half hour without it on to shower." Michael said. "He must go around campus like this for at least three hours tomorrow and somewhere public so he'll be seen. The bonnet is optional, " Michael continued. "Once he has been in it 24 hours and completed the challenge you need to come with him and sign to say you have been with him the whole time."

"Um okay?" she said.

"His time started when he put the dress on at the Lambs Fraternity house. Here is the stop watch." He said handing it to her. "Any questions?" he asked.

"Um, no I don't think so." Anne replied.

"Good." Michael ended and he looked at the pair for a second, "you know most couples just have sex." He said shaking his head at them and walking down the corridor.

Anne stood to one side and beaconed him in with a smile playing on her lips.

"Thanks." He said as the door closed. She turned around and looked at his back where she burst out laughing. "what?" he asked.

"Oh my goodness I just saw the bow!" she exclaimed laughing still.

"Yeah yeah." He said sitting on her sofa the dress puffing out in front of him, he struggled with it for a moment before she stood in front of him and showed him how to arrange the skirt so it was semi comfortable for him. "How do you know all this stuff?" he asked her.

"you think I went to any high school dance before Avonlea with a 'modern day' dress on?" she asked him. She sat beside him on the sofa. He looked to her as she continued "You know those hideous ball gowns from like the eighties?" she asked him. "They were apparently 'perfectly fine', she said. I even got stuck with the fushia pink ones, I avoided cameras all the time!" she exclaimed.

"Its funny, I can't imagine you in anything but your… um… I mean you always look stunning. You did at prom and All your pretty clothes you…" he blushed "were very pretty."

"Thanks." She said with a smile to him. "You know I think you were right with the whole dressing with a kind of armour on." She said. "Like I would hide behind my clothes, if I didn't dress like me when people made fun they weren't insulting me." She told him. "There was already so much for them to make fun of, no family, no friends, this." She said tucking the end of her own hair.

Gilbert swallowed and looked down "Anne, I didn't mean to make fun that day."

"Forget about it, its in the past forgotten about. I forgave you a long time ago." She told him.

"I know," he said softly "but you seem to have misunderstood me completely." He said. "I wasn't making fun of you."

"You called me carrots!" she exclaimed. "How else was it I was meant to take it?!" she asked.

"Like a boy who was desperately trying to meet the most interesting looking girl he'd ever seen." He said. The sat silent for a moment before he said "You had a clash t shirt on that day." He said to her.

She looked to him surprised, "I did, didn't I?" she said with a smile. "You know that was a hand me down in the orphanage but when I got it I looked up the band and it was really awesome." She smiled.

"So, you liked them by the time you wore it?" he asked.

"A total convert." She smiled. "You could have opened with that." She said.

"Duly noted for the next interesting girl I meet." He said with a grin to her.

"How did you get into them?" she asked.

"My dad." He said with a smile. "I told you when I was little he'd sing to me?" Gilbert rhetorically to which she gave a nod. "He sang Whitesnake and Queen." He said with a smile "The Who, Van Halen, Boston, The Clash…" he said. "I guess I picked up my taste of music from him."

"Well you know I think its cool." She said with a smile to him. She looked at him, "Gil can I ask, why the dress?" she asked him.

"Um, the initiation." He told her "Believe me I have no desire to turn this into a habit." To which she started giggling "I mean hey if it floats your boat there's nothing wrong with exploring that cross-dressing side of you…" he said with a laugh of his own.

"No!" Anne stated. "Come on you know what I mean." She told him "why do you want in the fraternity?" she asked him.

"It's…" he started and said thoughtfully "…amazing." He looked up at her. "The Lambs are the most exclusive club in the sciences in the country. The head surgeon, at the hospital, is an ex lamb president, at least two of his top surgeons were members with him. The connections, contacts, networking alone are incredible! And then there's the charity work they do for the community… I could make a real difference."

Anne smiled at him looking into his earnest eyes "We need to get you into that fraternity." She said biting down on her lip.

He smiled. "Yeah." He agreed. "Hence…" he said waving the skirt.

"Why did you not go to Charlie or Moody about this?"

"Charlie would have mocked and Moody would be far too serious." Gilbert said honestly. "And anyway spending 24 hours with either one of them none stop would drive me crazy!"

"So I'm the only one you could live with for 24 hours?" She giggled again and looked at him "Are you wearing anything under there?" she asked.

To which he blushed "a corset and knee length bloomers." He told her.

Anne burst into giggles and lifted the petticoats confirming what he said and started laughing all over again. She managed to straighten her face before she said. "well since we know everyone will see you like this tomorrow." She said still repressing the laugh. "let's embrace it!" Anne exclaimed.

"Wh-What?!" he stuttered as she stood up and pulled him up.

"Yes yes." She said with a smile taking out her phone. "Put your foot on the sofa and bring that skirt up I want to see those bloomers!" she teased. He blushed slightly before he burst into laughter and followed her command. He posed as an old Gibson Girl might as if he owned it. "Oh yeah baby!" Anne exclaimed taking a shot. "Bring it!" she laughed as he posed again. She turned her back to him and took a selfie with him in the background posing. "Oh!" she exclaimed bouncing over to her laptop. "How are we going to sleep?" she asked him as she accessed her music.

"I'll take the sofa." He told her.

"Don't be silly you're seven inches taller than me. You take my bed I'll sleep on the sofa." She objected.

He sighed "No, no way, I'm a gentleman there is no way you're sleeping on your own sofa."

"Is there no compromise?" she asked.

He looked seriously before he asked "I don't suppose My sofa would fit in here too?" he asked her.

"You know how to waltz don't you?" she asked him, bringing up the music to dance to. He held her to lead but she corrected him "no you don't! Not tonight at least, I lead!" Anne exclaimed.

He smiled but obeyed. "I only ever learnt to lead I'll warn you." He said playfully as they turned on the floor laughing. "I can barely do this!" he exclaimed finally taking her in hand and leading the dance. "Its Victorian themed you know, the dance next week."

"I know Phil just said." She said.

"Not a problem?" he asked her.

"No." she smiled. "I might even try a corset." She said with a smile. "But I'll pass on the bloomers." she teased.

"Its kind of nice actually." He said laughing "breezy!"

To which she couldn't help but laugh.

Their eyes glued to each other their lips constantly fighting a smile. They didn't know how late they stayed up dancing.

That's how pictures were taken of Gilbert Blythe lying fast asleep on two sofas in Anne's bedroom dressed in a Victorian ball gown came into being. How the pictures Anne took of both that night and the ones the following day got uploaded to twitter.

Mrs Lynde called it immoral.

Josie Pye thanked her lucky stars she had decided not to date Gilbert Blythe.

Charlie called it a ridiculous prank that only Gilbert could pull.

Anne called it a victory.

Because Gilbert got into the lambs.


	24. AOTI Chapter 5

"Gilbert!" She greeted him a few nights later as he knocked at her door. "What a surprise!" she exclaimed.

"Pull on a coat you're coming out with me Shirley!" he exclaimed.

"I am?" She asked him.

"Oh you are!" he said in delight. "Come on we'll be late!" he told a confused looking Anne. He went into her wardrobe and pulled out his old leatherman's jacket "I'm glad one of us is using this."

"Take it back." She said knowing he was teasing.

"Naw, can't do that its yours." He said pulling it on her then taking her hand "come on." He said pulling her out the door as she grabbed her keys.

"Gil!" she exclaimed half way down the corridor "what if I want to eat? Or drink?" she asked him.

"I'll pay." He told her. "You can't miss this!" he said with a grin.

"Gilbert Blythe, slow down and tell me what I can't miss."

He didn't.

He took her all the way into town into a hip looking coffee shop she hadn't noticed before, but she felt an immediate connection with.

"Your table milady!" Gilbert said with a huge grin. "Tea?" he asked her.

"Please." She agreed as he went to the counter. She looked confused as she saw a small stage being set up, microphones, had he brought her to a karaoke? Surely not?! When he came back she asked directly "This isn't karaoke is it?"

"Karaoke?" he reflected the chuckled "No no no no no." he said with a grin. "Karaoke is for amateurs." He said knowingly sitting beside her on the comfy chair rather then across from her on the table.

"why are you sitting…" she started

"I want a good view of the stage." He said to her as she moves slightly to give him a little more room, she either didn't mind or didn't notice his arm go around her.

Anne was trying to figure out what Gilbert meant as she took a sip of her tea, once tasted she said to Gilbert "Hey you found somewhere which serves Jasmine Green Tea!" she exclaimed as a man approached the microphone.

"Evening all, and welcome to 'Slam funk the junk.'" He smiled as a few people applauded. "Alright first we have Jamie with Lord Byron's 'she walks in beauty'." He said then a few people clapped as another person approached the makeshift stage.

"A poetry reading?" Anne asked Gilbert.

"So much better than that!" he exclaimed as the music started.

Gilbert watched as Anne watched in amazement as the boy managed to sing to the tune of 'My Girl' the actual poem. He chuckled watching her face as she looked incredulously to the stage then to him and then back again. "What in the world is this?" she asked him.

"They set poems to music." Gilbert said. "I heard about it from one of the senior lambs who said he used to come 'in his salad years'." Gilbert laughed. "I _had_ to bring you!"

Anne chuckled for a moment before she said "you know some of the speeches in Shakespeare are meant to be to music."

"What do you think to Byron to music?" Gilbert asked her.

"I think he would turn in his grave!" Anne exclaimed as Gilbert chuckled to her answer. "But, its not as crazy as it sounds!" she told him.

"You like?" he asked her.

She smiled and looked at him "I like." She said with a nod. "Thanks Blythe."

"My Pleasure." He said. "Come every week with me?" he asked her.

"It's a date!" she exclaimed.

* * *

Gilbert knocked on Anne's door the night of the dance. She opened the door and he turned to look at her.

His jaw almost fell to the floor. She wore a long satin dark purple dress which was lined with lace. It was sleeveless which he supposed wasn't typical of the era but she looked very retro gothic in it. Her red hair had a pompadour at the front continued down her back in a loose school plait. Anne wore dark makeup which was heavy round the eyelids and her lips were perfectly done in a dark red colour.

"Wow!" he exclaimed his eyes wide. "Anne…."

"Do I look like a Gibson Girl?" she asked him eagerly.

"I um… yes!" he said.

"Good." She smiled. "Come in I'm just finishing off." She said. He closed the door and watched her potter "Are you proud? I'm actually wearing a corset." She smiled. "The fact I can't breathe is almost worth it for the look of curves." She told him. "Can you see?" she asked him.

He had to think fast. Anne was giving him permission to look! He'd only ever caught glances before for the most part, it had been a while since he looked, but now he could… he wasn't going to knock the chance. He looked down her porcelain neck and down her throat to her chest. She was so perfectly milky white he wanted to lap it up taste it. Did it taste of milk? Though skin was salty so it was unlikely but it didn't defer him from thinking of the taste of her skin against his lips.

"You know I don't usually see much point in a bra I'm so tiny but a corset, I think makes a difference… Maybe I should wear push ups…" she spluttered. "You really don't have an opinion on bras do you?" she asked him.

"I can't say I thought about it until I wore that corset under a dress, are bras that uncomfortable?" he managed to return his eyes to hers.

"Not quite, I mean imagine that pressure just across your chest and you have a bra."

He grimaced. "Then I'm glad I don't have to." He smiled. "Though if you like the way it looks…" he commented.

"I do!" she exclaimed. "I look like a _real_ women." She exclaimed with a squeal.

"Anne come on you're perfect how you are, you don't need bras and push ups to prove it." He told her reassuringly.

She looked at him and smiled by way of thanks. "Come on lets go!"

Gilbert smiled as she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the door, she should really know by now, she was _all_ women to him!

* * *

Philippa took a sigh as she watched Anne and Gilbert dance. It was now the Christmas ball and Gilbert had taken Anne to every single one of these dances. It seemed they were always ahead of her. If she didn't know better she would have sworn there was some sort of 'pre-agreement' between them.

She sighed again.

If there were a pre-agreement there would be no reason why they had to enjoy each other's company quite so much.

So maybe they did just want to go to every dance together.

They might as well be dating. She thought to herself.

She couldn't count the number of times she saw Gilbert Blythe look at Anne the way he was looking at her now. It wasn't like she was the only girl in the world, no that would be far too simple, then Gilbert wouldn't recognise any of the girls swooning around him herself included, he did see them, and he skilfully sent them on their way without offending.

No, he looked at Anne as if she were the epitome of her gender.

She watched as he spun her around and she laughed in delight. She watched as they danced together swaying back and forth as in olden day films when they would sway. Anne looked up to him with such a blush. He looked down in awe.

'So how come they aren't together?' she found herself wondering.

* * *

"Oh Anne!" Diana exclaimed as she got out of the car on her driveway. "I've missed you!" She exclaimed. Diana ran and threw her arms around Anne. "Oh look at you Anne!" she said. "You look so different!"

"I do?" Anne laughed.

"Well you look so sophisticated from your time at university of course, have you learnt any big words to scare me with?" Diana teased lightly.

"None that I didn't know already." Anne smiled "but I've learned a thing or two in the big scary university about Aristotle and Plato which scares even me." She laughed.

"Then feel free to share them and see the horror on my face." Diana laughed with her.

"Anne!" Davy called as he sprinted down the driveway.

"Davy!" Anne said as the boy landed in her arms.

"Davy!" Anne heard from the house and a very red looking Mrs Lynde stood on the veranda. The redness of her face changed for a moment when she saw Anne. "You're back Anne dear?"

"As you see Mrs Lynde." Anne said with a smile.

"Well good, maybe you can tell me a way to replace a broken television?" Mrs Lynde threw accusingly at Davy who now hid behind Anne.

"Don't let her whack me Anne!" Davy exclaimed behind her.

"Excuse me Mrs Lynde you've lost me, a broken television?" Anne asked.

"He threw his game console remote at the TV!" Mrs Lynde told Anne.

"What?!" Anne asked trying to catch Davy's eye.

"I didn't throw it at the TV." Davy tried to defend.

"No!" Mrs Lynde said sarcastically. "It wasn't at the TV it was at Thea, it just hit the TV."

"Davy!" Anne exclaimed sharply.

"Thea ducked!" He defended. "It was meant to hit her not the TV!"

"And did you consider that with the same force you hit the TV would have hit your sister had she not ducked?" Anne asked him.

Davy's face turned white as a sheet, it was clear in his own temper and commotion he hadn't considered what it was he was doing.

"He needs a good spanking." Mrs Lynde shouted firmly. Anne sighed and walked up the driveway giving Mrs Lynde and affectionate kiss on the cheek as means of hello.

"No doubt in days gone by he would." Anne said to her to which Davy looked in horror to her. "But we wouldn't want people gossiping over the 'old fashioned' spanking Davy got, you know how tongues waddle and don't always tell the truth." She justified.

Mrs Lynde looked to Anne and then Davy. "A week off the computer game."

"What!" Davy started but a good steady look from Anne told him no further.

"And, I'll talk to Marilla about how you'll work back the money for a new television." Mrs Lynde said.

"But…"

"I think that's appropriate Davy."

"That's what house insurance is for!"

"Which there will be a premium for claiming on Davy." Anne told him with a grin. "Are you telling me you want to pay the difference too?" Anne said fighting back a grin. Davy looked to her then to Mrs Lynde who crossed her arms in front of her.

"I think Mrs Lynde's punishment is enough." He muttered.

"I like to think so." Anne said with a smile as both Davy and Mrs Lynde were satisfied with the middle ground they had found.

* * *

It was a few days later Davy was playing football with Gilbert in the crisp winter air.

"Come on Davy you know it was your fault." Gilbert said with a knowing smile.

"But to replace that TV is over a thousand dollars!" Davy defended. "I'll be paying back the money until I graduate high school!" he exaggerated. "In the meantime, I get no pocket money." He sighed.

Gilbert shook his head and grinned. "You're looking at it all wrong Davy." He said.

"How else can I look at it?"

"You're eleven right?" he asked.

"Yeah Eleven." Davy said.

"When I was eleven I climbed up the side of Moody's parents barn." Gilbert grinned "All the way to the roof!" he grinned "I was dared twenty five dollars I could walk all the way along the ridge so I did, quite successfully too. Until I was on my way back, one of the wooden slates were loose and I fell clean through it." He said with a laugh.

Davy gasped. "were you hurt?" he asked.

"No." Gilbert recalled. "I landed in their hay." He said with fond memory. "But my parents lay into me." He said shaking his head. "I had to pay for the roof repair." He continued. "You know what I did?" he asked Davy.

"No tell me." He said.

"Well I did get the twenty-five dollars, I invested in it. I got some window cleaning stuff and ladders and I went house to house window cleaning. Twenty five cent a window or one dollars fifty for the whole house." He said.

"Did it work?" Davy asked suddenly interested.

"For the most part, week after week it built up, then come the beginning of the summer I had enough to invest in a lawn mower, went up to the street houses and five dollars for a large lawn two for a smaller one." He said. "Spring comes fast in you know and if you take care of your equipment… other little things, drain gutters bin cleaning. I soon earned the money back, then by the end of the summer I had a neat amount for myself too." Gilbert said.

"Where did you find the time?!" Davy said in shock.

"I made it." He shrugged. "When we make mistakes, we square up." Gilbert said kicking the ball back to him rolling his shoulder "it makes us a better person."

Davy sighed as he caught the ball with his foot then said "When will I stop making mistakes?" he questioned. "When did you Gil?" he asked.

Gilbert laughed so hard the ball when flying past him. When he caught himself again he said "I doubt all my mistakes are behind me Davy." He told him.

"You make mistakes Gil?" Davy asked him ignoring the ball which was passed back to him. Davy picked up the ball as Gilbert grinned his hands went on his hips as he started to walk he beckoned Davy to follow.

"We all make mistake mate." He told him as Davy walked beside him. "it's the nature of the mistakes which changes." He told him. "and how we deal with those mistakes." He sighed then said quietly "it's not our mistakes that define us. It's the lessons we learn that show our true character."

Davy sighed "That sounds mighty grown up Gil." He said shaking his head.

"It is." Gilbert admitted. "But learn from your mistakes buddy and find the best way out of it." He said putting his arm around the lad and slapping him lightly on his shoulder.

They walked in silence for a few moments "Hey Gil?"

"Yeah buddy?" he asked Davy.

"Do you still have your window cleaning stuff?" he asked Davy.

Gilbert smiled "Sure buddy, would you like to use them?" Gilbert asked.

"Oh would you?!" He exclaimed. "You're the best!"

* * *

Anne heard a knock on her bedroom door and bid a come in. "Anne I was just wondering if you…" Gil started then looked at Anne's laptop screen. "Phil!" he exclaimed with a smile.

"So its not just here at college you two are always in each other's room hm?" Phil teased.

"Don't let Mrs Lynde hear you say that!" Anne said rolling her eyes. "'All the girls flirting with all the boys'…" she quoted.

"'it's a wonder they get any studying done!'" Gilbert finished in a mock Mrs Lynde voice. "Anyway it's the only place quiet enough to get any studying done here in Avonlea." He justified.

"Hmmm." Phil said with a suspicious tone.

"Anyway you can talk." Anne said matter of factly, "Phil was just telling me about her trying to decide between two boys back in Bolingbrook."

"Two?!" Gilbert exclaimed.

"Not all men were blind to my charms Gil dear." She said matter of factly which made Anne smile.

"Don't you love either one of them?" Gilbert asked her.

"No. Neither do I intend to." Phil said. "No, I couldn't love anybody. It isn't in me." She said business like "And don't look at me like that Gilbert, its just like Anne does. I simply don't want to. Being in love makes you a perfect slave, I think. And it would give a man such power to hurt you."

"Is there anything wrong with these two boys?" Anne asked her.

"No, no, Alec and Alonzo are two dear boys, and I like them both so much that I really don't know which I like the better. That is the trouble." She sighed "You see Alec is the best looking, of course, and I simply couldn't marry a man who wasn't handsome. He is good-tempered too, and has lovely, curly, black hair." She sighed her eyes flicking to Gilbert for a second "He's rather too perfect—I don't believe I'd like a perfect husband—somebody I could never find fault with."

"Then why not Alonzo?" asked Anne.

"Think of marrying a name like Alonzo!" said Phil dolefully. "I don't believe I could endure it. But he has a classic nose, and it WOULD be a comfort to have a nose in the family that could be depended on. I can't depend on mine. So far, it takes after the Gordon pattern, but I'm so afraid it will develop Byrne tendencies as I grow older. I examine it every day anxiously to make sure it's still Gordon. Mother was a Byrne and has the Byrne nose in the Byrnest degree. Wait till you see it. I adore nice noses. Your nose is awfully nice, Anne. Alonzo's nose nearly turned the balance in his favor. But ALONZO!"

"Then you'd be better off cutting both fella's free so they will find someone who wouldn't judge them based on such frivolous traits." Gilbert said looking seriously at her.

"Oh Gilbert don't judge me!" Phil said slightly huffy.

"I'm not." He said with a shrug. "But instead of these shallow ended reasons I think you should be concentrating on why you won't judge them on anything deeper."

"You take a psychology class last semester and all of a sudden you're Sigmund Freud." Phil said play acting at being put out.

"Oh not Freud!" Gilbert exclaimed which made Anne laugh. "Of all the psych's, you choose Freud!"

"Aww, have I hurt your manhood?" Phil said her playful nature returning.

"No the feminist is, the man was a sexist!" Gilbert said settling on the end of Anne's bed crossing his legs in front of him.

"Regardless…" Phil started.

"Regardless Phil you know Gilbert is right, if they have feelings for you…" Anne started.

"Oh alright alright!" Phil said. "I'll try and see their 'inner qualities' are you happy?" she said with a grin to them.

"Ecstatically." Anne smiled.

"Well there's a party tomorrow night I'll go stag then forget the fact they are rich and try and choose between them that way." Phil said. "Anything in Avonlea?"

"Actually part of the reason I came over." Gilbert said with a smile. "Moody's parents are doing their winter firelight again this year, I was wondering if Anne would accompany me?" he asked looking at Anne. "Everyone is home from university…."

"Oh we can catch up with everyone." Anne said with a smile to him "Moody himself of course, Jane and Josie…"

"Fred and Diana are going."

"Cool yeah, I'll go." Anne agreed. "I love to sit by the bonfire and watch people talking, it makes everyone aglow with the fire and the moonlight." She smiled.

"Hot chocolate?" Gilbert smiled.

"You know it!" she exclaimed with a fist pump with him. "Thermos' at the ready!"

"You two are such nerds!" Phil played. "I better go, get dolled up."

"Bye Phil." Gilbert said light hearted.

"Bye sweetie!" Anne called.

"Toodles!" she exclaimed as she hung up.

Gil and Anne looked at each other and smiled. "She's um…" Gilbert started.

"Something else!" Anne laughed. "But we love her."

"That we do." Gilbert agreed. "How's Davy doing?" Gilbert asked as they left her bedroom.

"Oh really well, he really took your advice seriously." Anne said with a smile. "You really seem to talk to him." Anne said.

"Well I was a boy once upon a time." Gilbert said. "I had a dad to guide me through the most trying ages." He sighed, "well most the time." He added with a thought.

"Hey its over now isn't it?" Anne asked him.

"Over two years now." He said with a nod. "But never say never." He said.


	25. AOTI Chapter 6

**Greetings, Kindred Spirits!**

 **So as always I just wanted to say hi with a quick update.**

 **Queenofthenight82: Lol, indeed if it were anyone else it would be flirting, and yes, Anne is not aware she _is_ flirting (believe it or not) but trust me when I say a whole can of whoop is going to be opened really soon... and we all know its coming because you know I'm sticking quite closely to the story line which includes the heartbreak it includes everything which goes with it!**

 **KimBlythe: My girl! Shout out to you as always! We're going to see this cute side to them very often, I think what most people wonder is 'how did Anne not know they were informally dating?' and I'm hoping in a modern day way I'm making it clear.**

 **JellyFishSisters: Hello! And welcome to the Anne fanfiction, there's a lot out there so I hope you enjoy reading through them all! I'm glad you're finding mine entertaining, and I'm loving writing it!**

 **Amanda Pall and Caprubia, thank you thank you thank you! I love I see your names pop up every so often, I love that you're still following, thank you!**

 **Original McFishie: Yes, they are very Gilberty reasons for joining the frat and _bless_ him he means it. Ah! I love its obvious, I love it! And Phil, I love Phil she's just amazing! I loved her in the books! Its such a shame her character was disregarded in the 1980s Anne's!**

 **And CatieGirl, as always my partner in crime, you know too much!**

 **love Carrots x**

* * *

Winter turned to spring all too quickly and stress was high among the freshman as 'finals' for the year was no longer a distant aim which was somewhere in the future but becoming ever so more real on a daily basis.

"Its good." Gilbert said finishing reading Anne's essay on 'women's role in Othello'.

"But…" Anne said looking at him quizzically.

"I just think Emilia is a bigger feminist then you're making her out to be." Gilbert told her.

"She lives and breathes the patriarchal society she lives in Gil."

"But she _voices_ so much more." He counterargued. Remember she says out rightly ' _They eat us hungrily and when they are full, they belch us._ '"

"Yet she plays by the rules of the society." Anne objected.

"Not every woman who is a feminist burnt her bra." Gilbert continued. "and not every girl has to throw herself under a horse to be heard."

"No, just ride on one naked through the streets of Coventry." Anne scoffed.

Gilbert grinned "if a pretty little redhead walked down the street naked now a days I'm sure there would be more than one peaking Tom." He said the tips of his ears feeling warm. "All I'm saying is the famous feminists aren't the be all and end all of feminism." He said. "The patriarchal society was prevalent deep into last century there are thousands of men and women rightfully defending equality even now. Not every one of them make the headlines, but if each one pass on their ideals to the next generation, the headlines would be for every one of them." He looked rather seriously at her now "for Elizabethan England her head could be on the block for just speaking out."

"Thank heavens she's written by a man." Anne said rolling her eyes.

"Well…" He said his hand steadying side to side.

"Oh come on!" Anne exclaimed. "You don't believe he was a woman!"

"One rumour was that he was Queen Elizabeth herself." Gilbert argued.

"You two…" Phil started.

"She was well educated, highly literate and had a magnificent imagination." Gilbert continued "Like you Queen Anne." He said with a wink to her which made her colour slightly. "When she was young she's known as the subject of much intrigue and was the victim of jealousy, betrayal, espionage, and ill-fated love."

"Is that true?" Phil asked Anne.

"It must be the red hair." Anne laughed.

"Her experiences in life are much closer in theme to Shakespeare's plays then the life he would have lived he wouldn't have had the connections in his life for the experiences of the characters he wrote." Gilbert continued.

"I can't believe you're defending it!" Anne exclaimed.

"Many of Shakespeare's plays serve as propaganda to promote the Tudor dynasty, very self-serving…" he continued.

"Oh please! Go down that line and you could easily argue that its influenced by Elizabethan courtiers who sought to support works that honoured their Queen." Anne said crossing her arms. "You don't even believe Shakespeare was a woman!" She continued

"Really?" Phil asked.

"Course not." He said narrowly missing a crunched-up piece of paper which passed his head which was thrown by Anne.

"Why do you enjoy vexing me!" she said her attention quickly returning to her papers.

Anne didn't see the way his gaze held on her face. His features softened, his lips upturned to a tiny grin, his hazel eyes dancing to even her smallest movements. It was a good steady 30 seconds before he silently blushed away.

Anne didn't see it, but Phil did.

"Excuse me a minute." Anne said as she slipped into her bathroom.

Phil looked at Gilbert for a moment before he looked at her curiously. "what?" he asked.

She thought as if she was not going to say it. "How long has it been Gil?" she asked him.

"I'm sorry?" he asked her.

"I mean at the beginning of the year I thought you might grow out of it like it was a crush but I don't believe it was, nor has it been for quite some time." Phil said plainly. "How long have you been in love with her?" she asked.

There was silence between the two before Gilbert swallowed and asked innocently "who?"

Phil burst into a short laugh before she looked at him "don't play that card with me Gilbert Blythe you know who I mean, the queen herself, our…"

"Shhh!" he exclaimed with red cheek his voice down to a whisper "She'll hear you!"

"So what if she did?" Phil exclaimed "How could she not know?!" Phil continued. "You're on such different courses but you're together all the time."

"Its not _all_ the time." Gilbert muttered. Phil looked to him as if she was irritated and he continued. "Anne and I didn't start on the best footing." He said quietly. "I of all people…" he took a deep breath "with Anne, its all or nothing, there's no in between ground. She either loves me back or she'll cast me out of her circle forever."

Phil sat back trying to work him out "and here I was thinking Anne was the dramatic one in the relationship. Gil, that barrier is inside your head!" she told him.

"It isn't." He said. "Every time we get close she pulls back." He said "I hold her hand, she pulls back, I hug her she pulls back, I hold her gaze she pulls back." He sighed softly and looked at Phil "I mean there was one time at a wedding she cuddled into me and we were dancing and I felt on top of the world, but then her best friend announces she's getting married and she pulls back from the idea of a relationship so much it puts me right back in my place."

Phil sighed then asked "Has she ever been in a serious relationship?" Gilbert remained silent "Have you?" she asked to which he blushed away. "Then how do you know what it'll take to get there?" she asked him.

He took a deep breath "I want her in my life." He said softly. "I intend on staying like this, on being her friend, her best friend…"

"What forever?" Phil asked.

"I want to be there for her!" he said sharply. "She's had so many people let her down, so many people reject her for not being what they want and expect…" he looked at Phil his eyes went soft. "So, I have to be certain, I have to know, not suspect, until then I am here, I will not leave her. I won't fail her." He whispered.

Phil looked at him there were tears in her eyes and she whispered "If I find a man who loved me as you love her…" she stopped for a moment as they heard the flush from in the bathroom. "…I think I could marry a poor man."

He smiled then said to her "then I hope you find him."

The conversation closed when Anne came in and she looked at the pair.

"You know I've had enough of all this work." Phil exclaimed. "I'm off back to my dorm." She exclaimed.

"What about your Shakespeare assignment?" Anne asked her.

"He'll save for another day." She said with a shrug. "See you later." She waved as she went out the room.

The two sat silently typing on their laptops for a few minutes, Anne sitting cross legged on her bed on her laptop and Gilbert's legs up on the sofa he was using them as a stand for his laptop.

"Hey, do you have your copy of the book for psych?" he asked her.

"On the bookshelf." She said offhanded.

He got up and walked over to it to find the book and his eyes glanced onto the desk. His brow furrowed and he asked "Hey Anne?"

"Um?" she asked.

"What's Avril's Atonement?" he asked her.

She suddenly looked up and she blushed "No, n-nothing." She said getting up suddenly get to him.

"But it says 'by Anne Shirley'." He said looking at it. "Is this…" he looked to her then back to the layers of paper. "it's all printed."

"I know." Anne agreed standing in front of him blushing.

"If its printed are you… are you sending this to publishers?" he asked her.

She didn't reply to him blushing and she looked at it then him "Yes." She admitted.

His jaw dropped but he smiled widely and chuckled for her. "Anne!" he exclaimed "That is amazing!" he told her. "Is, is this what you want to do?" he asked her. To which she nodded.

"I want to be a writer, an author to help people imagine things better than they are, more beautiful." She told him.

"I can't imagine anything more beautiful." He said quietly. She looked at him knowing he wasn't teasing.

"Do you think I can?" she asked him.

"You can be whatever you want to be Shirley." He smiled and brought his arm around her and kissed into her hair.

* * *

"Professor Wilson." Gilbert said with a smile to him.

"Gilbert Blythe!" The professor said with a smile. "Did you know you got the highest marks from anyone on the course last year?" he said ushering Gilbert into his office.

"Oh, did I?" he said humbly. He knew for certain he had done well. He knew that.

"4.3 grade average Gilbert." The professor said waving his hand in front of the chair for Gilbert. "no need to be humble."

Gilbert blushed "yet I prefer to stay that way." He said as he sat down. "Keeps me down to earth." He paused before he said "Then I'm not here out of any trouble professor?" he asked concerned about why he had been called to his tutors office.

"no, no no." Professor Wilson said. "Quite the contradictory." He sat and looked at Gilbert. "It's these kinds of grades we look for when it comes to exchange programmes."

Gilbert looked at the Professor perplexed. "Exchange programmes?" Gilbert questioned.

Professor Wilson looked at him. "We have a sister university, in New York." The Professor told him.

"Oh yes, I know." He admitted. "New York University."

The Professor smiled. "That's right, you're a lamb aren't you?" he remembered. "You'll know through the fraternity." To which Gilbert nodded. "Well it'll make it easier for you to have some core friends you get on the programme." The professor paused. "I'm getting ahead of myself." He said with a smile. "We recommend a student from our school to go and study at New York University for a semester or two."

Gilbert looked at the professor. "Oh." He said. "Me?"

Professor Wilson smiled. "Yes Gilbert you, I'd like to recommend you for the programme, now you'd be up against the other science programmes in the school, so there would be no guarantee." Professor Wilson looked at Gilbert "Are you hesitating?" he asked Gilbert.

He felt as though a thousand thoughts were running through his head, but he knew only one was.

Anne.

Could he leave her like this? Run off to New York and not tell her how he felt? Could he stand being away from her for that long. He lived for the moments he had with Anne. How could he live without her.

"A girl?" The Professor asked. To which Gilbert swallowed and nodded. "Well don't go passing away life opportunities for a pretty face. You want to see some of the world, don't you?" Gilbert nodded automatically not really thinking. "And it's not for sure yet you would need to be accepted in the first place. But I would need to start the paperwork for it now if you even had a chance." The professor looked at him. "What do you say?" Professor Wilson asked.

Gilbert thought for a minute. This was ridiculous, Anne wasn't even a girlfriend, this was an opportunity and a fantastic one, a one at sixteen he would jump at. "Yes." He said nodding. "we can always shoot for it." He admitted. "As you said there's no guarantees anyway."

"Excellent!" the professor exclaimed. "Good man!"

"Gilbert!" she called happily as she saw him come out the building, she ran happily towards him landing in his arms for a hug. Gilbert's cheeks blushed as she was close enough that he could smell her mint shampoo and her strawberry moisturiser which she liked to use on her skin. "I missed you!" she exclaimed. "How was your summer working at the paper? Were there any dramatic new breaking events in the newsroom when you were there?" she asked him.

"The coffee machine cut out every Wednesday and the copier ran out of ink in the middle of an edition going out which sparked a frenzy like I've never seen before!" he laughed as he realised he was the one pulling away first for once. "But nothing more exciting than that." He admitted. "But it was good pay and I'll be able to pay for books such like and they offered me a part time position during term!" he said with a smile.

"Ohhh go you!" she exclaimed with a smile.

"How was home?" he asked her.

"Davy finished paying off his debt for the television but he carried on for a few weeks after said he was 'making an investment." She said eying him. "Did you do that?" she asked him.

"I won't deny my involvement." He said with a glance to her.

"Diana is making more plans for the wedding next summer." She sighed then said "but Fred and I both had the same expressions on our faces." She said with a smile. "I really got to bond with him."

"So he's not so bad after all?" Gilbert asked.

"He's almost kindred," Anne said thoughtfully. "not quite but enough that I like him well enough." She admitted.

"Well maybe a closer bond will form over time. He's a good man you know?" Gilbert told her outright.

"I know I know." Anne said pushing him slightly.

"Hey Gil, Anne!" someone said to them in passing. "Welcome back, did you have a good summer?" they asked.

"Yeah, really good." Gilbert said. "Thanks."

"Where you living this year?" They asked Gilbert.

"Over in the Frat house." Gilbert replied honestly.

"I'm living in a house with Priss and Phil and Stella on Spofford Avenue."

"Oh? The one with the huge houses? How could you afford there?!" The boy asked.

Anne laughed. "It's on the little house on the end of the road, Patty's place. With a live in landland, she calls herself Aunt Jamesina and insists we call her Aunt, but it's very nice to have an aunt, even if she's not a real one."

"I know that house." The boy said. "You can't be more than five minutes apart, that'll be good for the walk of shame." He said with a smile. "I'll catch you both later."

Anne rolled her eyes as the boy jogged off. They had been well known for going to socials together, even a few of the exclusive Frat Parties he had taken Anne to, and everyone knew you didn't take anyone to those things unless you were serious. Expect for maybe Anne and Gilbert themselves. All the boys despite wanting to, never asked Anne and all the boys never asked her and none of the girls despite wanting to didn't even flirt with Gilbert, they knew it was hopeless, all it took was for them to be in the room together and they were drawn to each other, they'd happily dance with others have conversations even laugh with others but together, they seemed to sparkle, their faces animated their debates fiercer everyone knew they were together without actually being together.

"Have you registered yet?" Gilbert asked her to defuse the situation.

"No." Anne admitted. "but registration doesn't start today until after twelve." She admitted.

"I thought you drove up here yesterday?" he asked her.

"No this morning, I was up at the crack of dawn your dad waved me off he was the only one up."

"Well you know what a bore Kingsport is without you." he said with a smile.

"It doesn't mean I'm not up for a party over at Queen's tonight?" she asked him.

He thought for a moment before he said "You know Anne, we're in second year now, we both have enough friends, acquaintances who we might like to take…" he started.

"Oh." Anne said her face falling. "You've met someone?" she asked him an uncomfortable feeling sloshing in her stomach.

"No!" he exclaimed. "No Anne, you've got me wrong." He said shaking his head. "There's no one else, I was thinking of you, I know at least a dozen boys who ask for your relationship status on almost a weekly basis." He admitted. "I thought you might like their company." He said, his eyes downcast to the floor.

"I never thought of spending time with anyone else." She shrugged. "I guess as long as I have you I have all I need." She said with a smile to him.

He looked up as she took her hand in his and didn't let go as they walked down the street.

"Do you want to come with me?" she asked him.

He smiled the little dimples showing in his cheeks. "Yes please."

"Hey are you up for watching Blackadder back at Patty's place?" Anne asked him. To which he merely nodded.

It was then Gilbert started to feel a slight hope in his heart.

She didn't need anyone else.

When he was with her.


	26. AOTI Chapter 7

**So this was a later addition to the story.**

 **I wanted to address something and I don't mean it in a bad way. A lot of you have said Anne has "friend-zoned" him. While I agree in as far as he is her friend and that is where she needs him to be right now, I can't agree with the sentiment that she doesn't have any inklings of her own feelings for him. BUT Anne needs him to be her friend, the reasons will show later...**

 **I've written this to reveal a little more about what is going on in Anne's head without giving away my modern day plot elements.I hope you all enjoy.**

 **love Carrots x**

* * *

Studying was draining. Anne knew this, she had been exhausted for weeks.

She felt bad for Gilbert, he held down a job at the student union and kept perfect grades, honestly, she was worried about him, he always worked hard. If there was such a thing as working too hard, she was pretty sure Gilbert had hit it long ago.

They were studying in her little blue room, both were sat on the bed, their own books around them. Anne had hardly noticed the hours past so when she looked up for a moment she took a double take when she saw Gilbert's back against the wall behind him, his book in front of him open at the chapter he had been studying his pen still in hand. It wasn't only his back on the wall but also his head pressed against it, his eyes shut and his breathing steady. She smiled gently and let out a small sigh. She always forgot in the bustle of life just how handsome he was, in an impartial way. His curls still flopped down onto his forehead rebelliously, she'd seen throughout the years Gilbert try different styles for his hair to try and tame it, gel and waxes, it still came back to these soft curls playing on his forehead. Behind his closed eyes were orbs of hazel. In them you saw the frank honest man, but if you knew him you saw so much more! You could see his insecurities (though he often pretended he had none) you could see his joy, you saw just how _deep_ he was, how deeply he cared and was concerned, you could _fall_ into those eyes. His cheekbones were high on his face his dimples only showed when he smiled. His lips, at present was only slightly parted letting out tiny puffs of air as he slept, were dusky pink in colour. Anne licked her lips subconsciously watching his lips, they never looked dry always soft and plump, they, she imagined would be _very kissable_ … to the girl who got to kiss them. Her eyes flicked down to his chin, his strong chin. It framed him so nicely. His face had changed since the first time she saw him. He looked less of a boy, she smiled and thought it funny that he was turning into a man. She could feel her hand playing impatiently next to her wanting to reach to touch his face to feel the contours as she could see them but she reprimanded herself, it wasn't right to look, never mind touch!

'Back off Anne.' She thought to herself. 'You're letting yourself get too close.'

She went back to her book trying to concentrate on the words in front of her, managing for a few seconds before she found herself looking back to him. His t-shirt arms were quite fitted, more fitted then when he first came to college and she wondered for a moment if he had been building himself up, he didn't need to, anyone would tell you that and her mind wandered to under his shirt, before she shook her head in reprimanding herself again.

Sometimes, life wasn't fair.

* * *

"Anne!" she heard from behind her one day when Phil and her were walking down the street towards the university buildings, she turned in surprise to see Josie coming towards her with Charlie trailing behind.

"Josie!" Anne exclaimed in surprise as they hugged briefly. "came to see Charlie?" she smiled.

"I decided to come down for the dance on Friday." Josie smiled.

"Oh Fun!" Anne said in return. "Charlie will be glad of your company."

"Hi Phil." Josie smiled, recognising her from her previous visits.

"Hi Josie, how's your courses going?" she asked her.

"Oh really well." Josie smiled "We're busy as bees getting our final project done, but I brought some stuff to study with and we're skyping." She said as Anne's phone noised a message. She pulled it out with a smile she texted back. "Let me guess, Gil?" Josie asked.

"Um, Yeah, it was, how did you know that?" Anne asked her.

"Its, always Gil." Josie said drolly. "I don't suppose you two are official yet?"

Anne rolled her eyes "We don't _want_ to be official, we're happy as _we_ are." Anne defended.

"I doubt it." Josie told her. "I think there's something more to all this."

"What do you mean?" Phil asked.

"Oh well, I mean it's one thing to flirt with a boy, it's one thing to be a best friend with a boy and the two do sometimes cross over I mean its banter you know?" she stopped for a moment then continued "but what Anne is doing is stopping it from going to the next level." Josie observed.

"Who says it me?!" Anne asked defensively.

"Oh please." Josie remarked offhandelely "Gilbert would have slept with you years ago."

Anne's mouth hung open in shock of it being said and she looked to Phil to help her out. "Oh honey, you know I can't help you, he's been head over heels for you since we met!"

Anne looked to her shoes and bit into her bottom lip.

Josie looked to her and took pity "Well how would you classify your relationship with Gil?"

Anne sighed.

"Friend?" Josie asked.

"Yes." She nodded. "but…" she said slowly.

"Yes?" Phil encouraged.

"More than that, I don't know it's like we're best friends but it's not like how Diana and me are best friends, because we have more in common and, less in common at the same time. Like we know each other exactly. I mean we're different sometimes, he's far more logical and can take a step back and I'm far more emotional but it balances when we we're together."

"Do you find him attractive?" Phil asked purely out of curiosity.

"Are you kidding?!" Anne asked looking up and Phil. "I'd need to be blind not to see Gilbert is handsome…" she blushed but she shook her head "it's not his best quality though Phil." Anne said steadily. Before she looked to her feet and she continued "He's unbelievably kind and forgiving. He's possibly the sweetest guy I've ever met." A slight grin coming to her face "he's sensitive and strong, he's intelligent beyond belief, so so smart, he's funny and he can tease you to death." She said with a chuckle. "he's annoying, he makes me want to shout at him sometimes and he's out of his mind, drives me crazy but…" she paused suddenly not saying anything before she whispered "I don't know."

"Gosh, girls could you walk any faster!" Charlie exclaimed finally catching up putting his arm around Josie. "Oh hey Anne." He said casually, not knowing the knight in shining armour he was at that moment.

"Hi Charlie. How's your engineering classes going?" she asked him.

"Oh, very well." He smiled knowledgeably. "Did you know…" he started

"Oh Charlie," Josie reprimanded him. "Anne doesn't care about engineering."

"Yes I do." Anne said trying her best to find a way out of her current predicament. "please tell me Charlie?" she asked him.

* * *

Anne got back to her little blue room she sat on her bed. Her legs crossed in front of her she tapped on the bed in front of her for a few seconds before she picked up a pen and paper.

She started writing on the paper.

Gilbert

She tapped the pen on her knee. "Label him." Anne said softly to herself. "define your relationship." She was quite frankly tired of people jumping to conclusions. So if she could define it, put a label on it then maybe she could define it to others.

 _Friend_

She nodded looking at the label. Yes, he was definitely, absolutely a friend. She was satisfied he more then covered the criteria of a friend so she put a tick next to it.

 _Best Friend_

Her mouth screwed as she thought this time. Not because he wasn't her best friend. He certainly was, they had a blast together, they were best friends in so many ways, in every single way actually. She finally nodded putting tick next to it.

She looked to the paper annoyed before she slowly added underneath.

 _More_?

Anne tapped the pen on her knee some more looking round the room as if it held clues, or the answer, either one would do, it was then her digital photo frame turned into a picture of her and Gilbert. She smiled at it. It was the picture of them on prom night which Moody had sent to Gilbert.

She crossed out the ' _more?_ ' and replace it with ' _boyfriend_?'

She looked at the word her eyes filling with emotion as she looked at it.

He was sweet and wonderful. Kind and patient, he was everything a man should be.

But if she loved him… it could ruin everything, all he was would change. She couldn't stand to change him, turn him...

Her thoughts were interrupted as there was a knock on her door. She quickly wiped her eyes before she called "Come in."

The door opened and there stood Gilbert "Hey, you ready to go?" he asked her.

"Go?" she questioned.

"It's Tuesday." He said to her confused. "We need our weekly dose of bad music to various poetry, don't tell me you'd forgotten? I suppose we have a little while yet." he went over to her bookcase and smiled picking out a book "Hemingway in Hardback?" he asked her "niiceee!" he said with a smile to it flicking the pages starting to read.

"Diana saw it said she couldn't resist buying it for me." She said closing her notebook and putting it on her desk.

"Um…" he said almost ignoring her reading.

"Lost you now." She scoffed. She opened her wardrobe looking for a jacket. "it must be downstairs."

"Um…" he responded.

She rolled her eyes "be back in a minute." She said exiting the room.

It was a few seconds before Gilbert looked up and looked confused on how Anne had disappeared then remembered their, or rather Anne's conversation. He scoffed at himself and put the book back on the bookshelf, the he stopped and looked at the notepad Anne had just been writing in. He loved reading her notes, they always seemed to make the subject matter more interesting so he flicked to the last page written on and to his surprise found

 _Gilbert_

 _Friend_

 _Best Friend_

 _More?_

 _Boyfriend?_

His eyes were wide for a moment and his heart raced in his chest he found his hand shaking as it held the paper open before he heard Anne's footsteps coming up the stairs he slipped his hand out of the page letting it fall back to its natural resting place and took a few steps away from the desk, he turned as she walked in the room.

"You ready?" she asked him.

"Are you?" he asked his mouth dry.

"Lets go." She smiled.

* * *

Friday came and Gilbert came to Patty's place for Friday night as he often did. He wasn't greeted by Anne but instead Phil who looked relieved at Gilbert as she saw his face.

"Oh thank the Lord!" Phil exclaimed dragging him in the house.

"Phil?" he asked confused. "What's going on?"

"Anne got a letter in the afternoon post, on opening it she ran to her bedroom and shut the door, she won't let anyone in I heard her crying. I don't know what's going on she won't respond to the door." She told him. "Please if there is something you can do?..." but she was too late he was already tackling the stairs two steps at the time.

He knocked on the door gently "Anne?" he said equally as gently. "Anne, its me." He called.

He heard the click of her door being unlocked before she opened the door and together they stepped into each other's arms, Anne crying into him. "Its okay." He whispered. "Its okay, you're safe to cry." He whispered to her. "I'm here, you don't have to be alone anymore." He said to her.

"Gil…." She sobbed quietly. "I can't do it, I can't do it anymore." She said between sobs.

He took a breath and brought her in closer "Can't do what?" he asked her.

"I'm not good enough…" she sobbed.

Gilbert felt mortified. "Listen to me Anne, listen…" he whispered. "No matter what it is, no matter how bad it is, you need to understand one thing Anne…" he told her "You are _good_ enough." He whispered to her his heart-breaking for her.

"I'm not, I'm not." She cried.

"What happened?" he asked her.

She handed him the letter she had in her hand and flopped on the bed "it's no good Gilbert I'm in the depths of despair, I can't do it, I can't write, I can't continue at university on a lie."

" _Dear Miss Shirley, we regret to inform you your story Avril's Atonement has been rejected by our quality control._ " He whispered reading it. He took a deep breath and sat on the bed next to her stroking her back. "I can't tell you it will get published, it's not my job." He admitted. "But, what I can say for certain is that some of the best-known authors got knocked back time and time again. What if JK gave up after Harry was rejected for the first time? We'd have no Harry Potter, that's what." Gilbert told her "No, Avril may not be everyone's cup of tea, take this story and learn from it, pour your knowledge your passion your life into them!" Gilbert advised her. "If only you could see you as I see you." He told her "You wouldn't doubt yourself for a moment!"

Anne turned and looked up at him. "Really?" she asked him.

"Oh yeah!" he said emphatically. "You can do whatever you want to Shirley." He told her smoothing back her hair.

She sobbed for a moment before she whispered. "Gil?" she asked.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Hold me Gil." She whispered.

He didn't feel himself breath for a moment as he tried to work out if she meant it. He took off his shoes and lay parallel with Anne on the bed his head just above hers. They cuddled in their arms wrapping around each other.

"Thank you Gil." She whispered.

"No problem." He whispered back.

"Can we stay here a while? I don't think I can face the others yet." She told him.

"Sure." He confirmed.

An hour later Gilbert had become relaxed, Anne had fallen asleep at least fifty minutes ago he let her sleep on him, she had exhausted herself crying. He loved her sensitives, he could only compare it to a child's, untarnished and untamed from the world. Her sensitivity was innocent and he could only love her more. She woke suddenly jumping before he said "its okay, you're safe." He whispered.

"Gil." She croaked her head shaking burying her head in his chest "Oh now this is embarrassing." She said honestly.

"No need to be embarrassed." He assure her.

"No?" she asked "I fell asleep on you."

"Means you're comfortable with me, I'm honoured." He said still soft.

She looked up at him and whispered. "Do you mean it?"

He looked down to her looking into her eyes "Of course." He told her.

"No I mean about the writing?" she asked him.

His hand cupped her cheek gently his eyes not moving from hers, their faces came close together their noses rubbed for a moment before they felt the warmth from their mouths… Gilbert's eyes flicked to Anne whose eyes were closed before he slowly closed his.

The knock at the door made them jump back in surprise. Gilbert thought his heart would leap out of his chest at the emotions he was feeling in that moment, before he could gather his thoughts she had sat up on the bed offering her hand to him to help him up.

"Come in." She called as she pulled him up.

"Finally, Queen Anne!" Phil exclaimed. "What happened?!"

"Oh, its nothing." Anne said quietly, "I was being silly."

Phil looked back and forth between the two friends before she asked slowly "Was I, interrupting anything?" she asked them.

"No." they exclaimed together.

Phil looked at the suspiciously before she seemingly changed the subject "Are you ready for our Friday night?" she asked Anne "Charlie said he was coming along too." Phil said lightly.

Anne stood up and straighten herself out "best get to it then." She said walking straight past her and down the hall into the bathroom.

Phil pulled her sympathising face at Gil and said "Sorry."

Gilbert shook his head half in dismay himself he got up and smiled lightly "Can you accompany me downstairs?" he asked her lightly.

"Well, thank you Gilbert." She said back sensing not to say anything.


	27. AOTI Chapter 8

**Hi Everyone!**

 **So here we are. We knew we'd get there in the end because of the nature of this story... Oh my goodness! This is one of those chapters which is so pinnacle, and I'm so sorry in advance.**

 **Oh and guest, I'm so glad someone noticed that at the end of that conversation, I put it in deliberately! When no one was mentioning it I thought it was wasted... and the you reviewed!**

 **love Carrots x**

* * *

"You know what I love about the snow?" Anne asked him as they put the finishing touches on their snowman. The term had come and gone quickly and Anne had finished her midterms just that afternoon. The winter had come in fast and the snow lay several inches deep on the ground.

"I love how magical it is!" He smiled as she continued. "Do you remember that cartoon thing with the flying snowman?" She asked him he smiled and nodded his head. "I always loved the idea of flying with him through the air." She said with a smile. "Do you ever dream you're flying Gil?" she asked him.

"Sometimes." He said quietly.

"I do." She said chuckling "often."

"It's meant to represent freedom, according to dream psychologists." He said.

"Do you believe in them?" She asked him.

He shrugged "Yes and No." he said. "I think sometimes it has everything to do with your subconscious mind trying to release the right chemicals to help your conscious mind deal with things." He started "but at the same time, sometimes it's just a dream." He shrugged. "Maybe we'll cover it in some of the psychology lectures." He said with a grin. "Do you _really_ want to?" he asked her.

"Cover it in psych?" she asked genuinely confused.

He chuckled "No, fly!"

"Oh that!" she said with a laugh bowing her head. "Yes, I do, who wouldn't?" she asked rhetorically.

A grin appeared on Gilbert's face which Anne couldn't mistake he played grabbed her as she squealed "No Gil!" she protested as he lifted her in his arms

"Trust me." He told her.

"Don't you have to be trained to lift a girl like that?!" she asked him.

"I can lift you easy, come on!" he laughed his eyes twinkling. He lifted her by the waist and held her high in the air. Honestly, she knew she was safe as she brought her arms out and proclaimed "I'm flying!" she said. Below her she heard Gilbert false sing "we're walking in the air!" she laughed for a moment giving into the moment and letting herself go in his arms.

"I'm free!" she yelled. He laughed gently then brought her back down to earth. Her whole body pressed against his and they stood close in the snow.

She blushed under his gaze and as she moved away she began to slip in the snow. "Oh no!" she exclaimed knowing she was going down, she grabbed at Gilbert who was far less stable on his feet then she thought came tumbling down with her.

They laughed in the moment as they always did "I thought you were sturdy!" she reprimanded him.

"Apparently not!" he exclaimed pulling back from her shoulder. They were lay Anne snug against the snow and him on top of her.

He looked into her sparkling eyes, grey with the specks of green in them, he thought her the most gorgeous creature on the earth. He brought his gloved had up to her face stroking her there on her face before he brought his lips to hers. To his surprise her lips responded to his, the graze of a kiss deepened as she responded and relaxed in his arms. He wrapped her closer to him a tiny sigh of contentment escaped his throat before he flinched back ashamed of the noise her had made. He looked at her tentively only to see her bite her bottom lip playfully before their lips met again. This time he allowed his own responses relax their mouths parting slightly he brought his tongue to her lips asking for access to which she opened her mouth a little giving him the access he looked for, he brought her closer again as the kiss deepened more she relaxed again in his arms bringing her gloved hand into his curls playing with them with her fingers. His teeth grazed at her bottom lip as he brought himself out for a moment she giggled as he did so, Gilbert struggled to verbalise anything for a moment and when he could the only words to escape was a whisper

"I love you Anne."

He hugged quickly into her kissing into her neck, she suddenly pulled back in arms his breath released and had started to let out a quiet whimper.

"I can't let you!" she said pulling away so quickly Gilbert still had her imprint in his arms. "I can't!"

"Um…" He started as she stood up and started walking away. His breaths were still deep his head still light, 'how can she just stand up and walk away' he thought to himself. He pulled himself from the ground and followed after her. "Anne…" he called to her he jogged though the snow to catch up to her. "Anne please wait?" he asked of her.

"I can't." she said shaking her head as he caught up and tried to take her hand. "Don't touch me!" she exclaimed.

His hands went in the air beside him. "I just want to talk about what happened just then." He said gently.

"There's nothing to talk about." She said her eyes deliberately avoiding his but he could see her eyes were filling with tears

"Anne we were making out then I said 'I love you' and you run away." He said to her confused. "There's something to talk about."

"No!" Anne protested again.

Gilbert started shaking though it was cold it wasn't the reason he was shaking. He could feel Anne slipping though his fingers. "I don't understand Anne, Please help me understand." he asked of her.

"I can't…" she shook her head then said quietly, "You... You _promised_ me you wouldn't change." She told him.

"I'm not." He said.

"But love changes you and it would change you and you can't! You promised not to." She said.

He stood wordless for a few seconds his head spinning, he couldn't have misread everything surely? "I'm not changing Anne, this has been a long time coming, we're together for hours at a time, we go to everything together, we hug we kiss we're so close Anne, surely Shirley you must feel it!"

"Please don't change! Please please…" She almost begged finally breaking into tears.

He couldn't bare it, seeing her sad killed him. He wrapped his arms around her holding her close. "What are you holding back? What aren't you telling me?" he asked her gently. "you can tell me anything, you know that right?" he asked her to which he swore for a second she paused before a new wave of tears came. He held her there his own tears running down his face. "Cry all you need to Shirley." He whispered then kissed her lightly in her hair. "I won't change, not if you don't want me to."

They stood there hugging for a couple of minutes while she got her tears under control.

He took a sigh as she pulled back and looked at him for a moment "Where do we go from here?" she asked him quietly.

"I'm not sure." He admitted. "If you don't love me…" he started.

"I didn't say that." She whispered.

He single chuckled before he said "You didn't need to." They were silent for a few minutes before he continued. "I think what we need is some perspective." He said trying to work through it logically.

"Perspective?" she asked.

"Um." He said in affirmation. "Space and time to think." He said at first not looking at her but then his eyes flickered to hers.

"I'm not following?" she said.

"There's a…" he started finally coming back to himself "…um… student exchange I've been recommended for with NYU. It would mean a semester, maybe two studying there." He told her.

"Are you going?" she asked him shocked.

"Give me a reason to stay?" he whispered to her trying desperately to hold onto something, some small sign of affection from her.

"So you were what going to kiss and run anyway? What's the point in all this?!"

"I didn't plan this!" he told her. "This has been bottled up for so long…"

"So when you kissed me back there you thought what?"

"I thought we were the kind of couple who could survive long distance for a while, especially since I'd be coming back over the holidays anyway." He told her then he half scoffed "it appears we can't even do short distances."

"We're not a couple!" Anne retorted hotly.

"And that's why we both need space!" he argued back. "I know you don't like the fact, but I do love you Anne, but if I have to walk around here every day and seeing you every day and acting as though I don't love you, I don't think I can do it anymore. If there's some distance at least we can work it out in our own heads and give ourselves the space we need to figure out what we are who we are to each other."

"That's not fair!" she exclaimed. "You're making me choose between loving you or nothing at all!" Anne exclaimed.

"That's the choice you've given me!" he shouted.

"I want my best friend in my life!" she shouted back.

"And I want your love!" he yelled finally his face red, from cold and anger and pain and grief "and you've just told me I can never have that!" he continued "I can't just switch off my feelings for you! Don't you get it? Can't you and that brilliant imagination of yours just imagine for a moment that you do love me and you had to act as though we were 'just friends'? Can't you see how painful that could be?" he asked her. "I have never been in love before I met you and all I'm saying is that we need some space, just a little so we can get a perspective, just for a little while."

"A semester or two?!" she exclaimed "That's practically a year! That's not a 'little while'."

He looked down at his feet his boot playing with the snow at his feet. "Please just give me time please?!" he asked.

She stood silent for a moment before she talked "and when you get back we'll still be friends right? You'll talk to me and we can work through this?" she asked.

He silently nodded though Anne was sure she could see a glisten in his eyes as if he was holding back tears.

"When you're gone, can we talk?" she asked.

"Maybe not for a little while." He asked quietly. "Just for a little bit of space." He whispered.

"That's all your asking for is space?" she asked him.

He sighed. He wanted to ask for so much more, he wanted to ask for the exact opposite, he wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her senseless until she came to her senses about this! "Just space." He said quietly.

"Okay." Anne agreed.

They walked back to Patty's Place in silence. Nothing could be said in the moment. Nothing that would help. It would all be destructive if they did so neither one of them said anything. He stood by the gate as she walked up the garden path and she turned at the door and looked at him sadly.

Anne was rarely wrong in moments of emotion. Her stomach turned and she felt a part of her walk away as he did. She knew things wouldn't be the same with Gilbert again.

* * *

"You did what?!" Phil exclaimed to Anne "Oh Anne how could you!"

Anne had recounted that evenings events, she had sat in tears telling her and Phil's reaction was the last thing she expected.

"Not you too Phil." Anne replied. "I've already lost Gilbert this evening I can't lose you."

"Oh don't be utterly ridiculous!" Phil exclaimed sitting next to her "You could never lose me." She told Anne. "You're stuck with me now." She sighed. "Its just Gilbert." Phil said confused as she looked to Anne. Anne didn't look at her at first "I backed off Gilbert for you." She said. Anne looked to her in shock "well I backed off Gilbert because it was obvious he, well he looked at you like you were Aphrodite." To which Anne burst into tears. "Oh Anne!" Phil said putting her arms around her. "Oh sweetie, I'm sorry." She whispered. "I shouldn't have been so harsh."

"But its true!" Anne cried. "I've treated him terribly!" she sobbed between the tears.

"Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry." She sighed "Despite what happened tonight he was your best friend."

"Was." She sobbed. "Past tense." She cried more.

Phil cringed at herself. "I suppose you need to reconstruct your whole world."

Anne signed and then whispered in her tear "with no Gilbert in it."


	28. AOTI Chapter 9

**Hi Everyone!**

 **Thank you all for your feedback! Keep them coming! I know shocker last week of them actually kissing and Anne enjoying it! Mush mush kiss kiss, so what's going on there huh?**

 **So the next few chapters may break your hearts but I hope you enjoy them all the same!**

 **love Carrots x**

* * *

Anne smiled and she hugged Diana as they met in the coffee shop. It was a week later Anne had got home the day before at a late hour, as ever she was running late but she as glad to be home. "Do you have any Green Tea?" Anne asked the waiter as he came to the table.

"Oh um, we have herbal tea is that the same thing?" he asked her.

Anne smiled "No, but that's okay, herbal tea… Do you have any peppermint?" she asked him.

"Our Mint herbal blend Miss." He said with a smile.

"Sound divine!" she said. "and two sugars please?" she asked him.

"Yes Miss and you?" He asked Diana.

"A café mocha please with a shot of caramel." She said.

"Coming up." He said with a smile to the two pretty ladies.

"So how was your last term?" Diana asked her.

"Oh you know." Anne said with a shy blush. "Shakespeare, Chaucer, highfalutin mumbo jumbo, that doesn't really matter" she said with a laugh.

Diana eyed her careful for a moment studying her face. "Something's changed." She said.

Anne took a deep breath not replying directly "Everything changes eventually." She admitted. "How is the wedding planning?" she asked her directly.

"Now I know something is wrong if you're asking about the wedding!" Diana exclaimed.

"I'm interested in the wedding!" Anne exclaimed. "If its important to you its important to me." Anne said with a smile to her friend.

"Good, then you won't mind going bridesmaid dress shopping with me." Diana told her.

"Of course not." Anne stated. "Who are your bridesmaids going to be?" she asked Diana.

"Well, only one." Diana said "and a flower girl, I promised Mini May she could be a flower girl."

"well bridesmaid then." Anne said wondering why Diana was being so cryptic.

Diana laughed "You, you goose!" she exclaimed. "My maid of honor."

"Me?!" Anne exclaimed jumping up in excitement. "Really?!" Anne exclaimed hugging her friend.

"Oh," Diana started as they pulled back "Fred was wanting to know when Gilbert would get…" Diana noticed her friend flinch at Gilbert's name. "Anne?" she asked. "What's wrong?" she asked her as the waiter came with their drinks setting them on the table.

"I'm afraid Diana, I think I've made a terrible mistake." She said swallowing hard. Diana looked concerned but quizzically at her before Anne started explaining what had happened.

When Anne had finished Diana looked in horror at Anne. "Anne!" she exclaimed.

"I know I know you'll reprimand me, _he_ did…" Anne said unable to say his name because it hurt so much to. "Phil did and I can't blame you…"

"No, not that." Diana said a small tear running down her face. "I mean, everyone expected something would happen between you and Gilbert…" (again Anne flinched at his name) "…but if it really was unexpected and you really… I mean, he's your best friend…"

"Diana no you're…"

"No, he's been your best friend for a long time and I'm okay with that." Diana admitted. "I don't mind, I would say Fred is my best friend followed by you of course, its natural don't worry." Diana sighed. "When did this happen."

Anne looked in her tea "Just on Friday." Anne admitted. "He said he needed space so I haven't seen him since, but for how long? A week, a month?" she questioned.

"And if he really does go to NYU, that's really far away." Diana admitted.

Anne let out a huge sigh. "Oh Di!" she exclaimed before she started crying again. "what am I like? Crying into my tea cup for a boy who just ups and walks away!"

"Its just space." Diana said.

"And he'll fill that space between us with other things won't he?" Anne said sobbing. "with football and lambs and gir… girls!" she stuttered.

"Oh Anne please don't cry!" Diana tried. "Of course you're upset." Diana said trying her best not to place her own opinion above that of Anne's emotions. Personally, she thought Anne had been in love with Gilbert from the first time Anne had seen him.

 _"_ _Is your high school really divided into social groups?" Anne had asked Diana the first day of school. Diana had been assigned Anne's guide for the first few days of school. "That sounds ridiculous!" Anne exclaimed._

 _"_ _Oh it is ridiculous!" Diana exclaimed. "Oh those lockers over there…" Diana explained "as you can see belong to the jocks."_

 _"_ _Jocks?" Anne questioned._

 _"_ _Right." Diana continued. "Cute boys play football, Charlie is the team captain until Gilbert gets back." She said off handly._

 _"_ _Gilbert?" Anne asked._

 _"_ _Oh he's captain everything, tall dark handsome, strong and silent." Diana said swaying. "He's dreamy!" Diana admitted. "Though too sort after which is why I don't care for him_ _ **too**_ _much." Diana admitted. "And why I prefer Fred over there." Diana said with a sly look at her crush "isn't he handsome?" Diana asked her._

 _"_ _Um, well…" Anne tried "I try to leave my choices open." She said as they past them._

 _"_ _Hey Diana!" Charlie called and the two girls turned "Who's your friend?"_

 _"_ _Anne Shirley." Diana said her nose upturning and walking away. "Ignore him, that's Charlie Sloane, and a Sloane is a Sloane."_

 _It was then they heard him wolf whistle and exclaim to another jock "she's hot!"_

 _It was a few week later when Gilbert had returned to school. They had been sitting on a bench outside as Gilbert had walked past. Gilbert had paused for a moment before he opened the door._

 _"_ _Heyyyy Gil-man!" They heard from beyond the door as it shut behind him._

 _Diana smiled at her friend as her eyes were still on the door. "That's Gilbert Blythe." Diana said before Anne asked_

 _"_ _Who?"_

 _"_ _Who?!" Diana exclaimed standing up "the boy you couldn't take your eyes off!"_

 _Anne cleared her throat and held her head high as she started to walk "That's not true," Anne continued "I am determined to at least be introduced to him before passing judgement." Anne said her head still high. Anne looked at Diana as they came to the door, Diana unable to keep a straight face. "I mean it Diana!"_

 _It was then Diana watched as Gilbert wasn't watching her she could clearly see Gilbert's eyes following Anne. "He's watching you!" Diana squealed to Anne, to which Anne couldn't help but look up, her eyes locked with his and Diana couldn't help but see the sparks between them, Anne trying to keep her face from flushing. It made Diana smile to see Anne's head snap back._

 _"_ _Isn't he handsome?" Diana asked._

 _Anne blushed her nose held high "He is tolerable I suppose." She said with a grin to Diana "but not handsome enough to tempt me."_

Diana looked at her friend across the table her head low looking into her lap. It was hard to believe the same boy had such polar effects on her in such a short time.

* * *

"Hello Anne, Hello Diana." They were greeted about an hour later.

Anne looked up and her eyes went wide, there stood Mrs Blythe before them.

"Hello Mrs Blythe." Diana said politely as Anne seemed to be momentarily mute. "How are you?"

"Oh as well as a broken hearted mother can be." She said lightly. Anne looked horrified for a moment before she continued "though I tease you a little, Gilbert is working back at the newspaper in Kingsport for this week, he comes back on Christmas Eve but is gone the day after boxing day and heading to New York."

Anne flinched. Gilbert wouldn't be home at all. He loved Avonlea as much as she did. Although she knew in the brief moments, Mrs Blythe definitely didn't know about what happened between Gilbert and her.

"He seemed a little heavy hearted on the phone about it but who wouldn't be." She continued. "I hope he's not working too hard." She continued lighter. "You'll know Anne?" she asked her directly.

"Oh um…" Anne stuttered a moment. She blushed away before saying quietly "he always works hard Mrs Blythe, but I don't think his work load weighed him down."

'No,' she thought to herself. 'That was me.'

* * *

"Gilbert Blythe?" The boy asked him as he opened his door.

"Um, Yeah." Gilbert answered.

"Hi I'm Ronald Stuart, please call me Ron for short."

"Hi?" Gilbert said tentively.

"I'm President of the Lambs here at NYU." Ron explained to which Gilbert nodded.

"Yes of course the lambs." He said with a smile. "Josh said to look out for you."

"See I thought it would be more useful just to introduce myself." He said with a smile. "So, are the lambs as active in Redmond as they are here?" he asked.

"I wouldn't know yet." Gilbert said with a smile.

"That's true." Ron said with a smile. "in that spirit, we're doing a sponsored event next week. If you fancy joining the cause?"

"Next week?" Gilbert asked. "You certainly are active."

"We do the sponsored stuff at least every couple of months, and we do a lot of sports in the meantime, keep ourselves healthy." Ron paused "You were on the football team, right?"

"That's right, football scholarship actually."

"Oh nice!" Ron said impressed.

"So what's the event?" Gilbert asked.

"A skydive?" Ron said calmly.

"Skydive?!" Gilbert exclaimed. "Really?"

"Look you don't have to take part if you're not sure." Ron said. "But it'll be good to come along and meet some of the other members."

Gilbert nodded automatically.

"Good man!" Ron exclaimed. "I'll send you the details on Facebook. Are you on Facebook?" he asked.

"Um Sure." Gilbert admitted.

Ron pulled out his phone typing in Gilbert's name "ah, there you are." He said. "Now we're very active on social media, we really use it for our charity work and hash tag thelambsfrat. Maybe its something you can take back to Redmond with you." He said with a smile.

"Yeah maybe." Gilbert said with a smile.

* * *

"Where are you off to this early?" Phil asked her as Anne hurriedly ate her toast.

"Class, you know I have a class with Professor Stephenson first thing." Anne said.

They were silent for a moment while Aunt Jimsie hustled around them before she left the room.

"I know you have class first thing but that's not for another half an hour and it's only a ten-minute walk."

"Its twenty five the way I walk." Anne told her.

"what?!" Phil exclaimed confused. "You walk straight down Pine take a left onto Maple and the building is straight across the road." She said. "Are you so dreamy that you get that lost."

"It's not about getting lost." Anne told her.

"Then its about…" Phil asked slowly.

"I can't walk down Pine Street."

"What's wrong with Pine?" Phil asked confused.

"Nothing!" Anne exclaimed. "I have to go." With this Anne turned and left the room.

Phil sighed looking after her friend and shook her head. Honestly Anne was the most confusing person the world lately. She leisurely ate her breakfast, bid adieu to Aunt Jimsie and headed down that route herself. She was heading for the library, of all the things in the world there was no digitized edition of a book she needed for her maths class and she was damned if she would actually _buy_ a book! Her bedroom unlike Anne's was not cluttered with books, she had her kindle on her desk. If she wanted to read she had a whole library at her fingertips. When she reached the end of Pine she suddenly stopped looking at the house in front of her and her jaw dropped. She suddenly knew why Anne couldn't walk down Pine, even in the winter air Anne would still choose to head up to main and walk all the way back down to the university buildings. Phil's heart dropped for her friends, because there on the end of Pine Street was the Frat house for the lambs. Phil carried on her walk down to the library and stood in line for the librarians. Finally with book in hand she headed for the exit where she saw a group in the lobby setting up a stand. It looked like one of the clubs were starting a stand and if she had to guess it was religious. She must have stood too long because she heard a voice from behind her.

"Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard?****"

She turned and for a moment was mute. The man she saw had nothing too appealing to look at. He was skinny to the face that he looked jaunt skinny to the body that he looked positively ill. His blond hair was gelled back which didn't compliment his face and his face was home to the roundest pair of glasses Phil had either seen.

"Neither I hope." She replied honestly. "Religion is far too serious for my liking."

He smiled which made Phil curious to him again. "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world**." He looked to her "what have you against that?" he asked.

She turned her whole body towards him, her brow furrowing. Who was this little man who believed himself able to stand up, to her?!

"Nothing, only religion is rarely that." She opposed.

"Ah!" he acknowledged and nodded, "you go by man's understanding?"

"I go by mine and no _man's_ understanding." She objected.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.*"

"Trust a man?" Phil started.

"God is not a man."

"Ah, God is a woman? Now there is a religion I can follow." Phil said with light heart.

The man laughed which brought to Phil an odd sensation of satisfaction to please him so easily.

"So you believe in a God?" he asked her.

Phil thought for a moment. "I hate to be on the fence about anything. I hate to believe in a deity who could let all the suffering which happens in this world take place, yet, I suppose, I do believe in a power greater then even me." She said with her twisted smile, which again seemed to please the man in front of her.

The man nodded. "you know a long time ago God tried to be more direct with the people on the earth. He directed them more closely, they still wouldn't listen."

"Oh?" Phil asked. "What happened?" she asked.

He pulled a smile and leaned in a little closer to her and said "The old testament."

Phil looked to him incredulously as he walked away, to her surprise not towards the table but out of the library doors. She went after him surprised and once she caught up with him asked "Hold on, aren't you with them?" She asked him.

"Nah." He said with a wry smile. "With those religious nuts?" he asked.

Phil looked confused. "You just quoted the bible galore in there if you aren't with them?..."

" _If God_ is for _us, who can be against us.***"_ He said with a grin.

"So…" she asked confused. "You're for God?"

"Absolutely." He said with a smile. "I'm not looking to convert you, they are, I'm not."

"What were you standing there for?" Phil asked him.

"I was curious as to who they were, and what they were doing." He admitted. "but after hearing the way they spoke to people, to each other, I couldn't stand it." He said with a smile "then I saw you."

"I'm Phil." She told him. He looked confused at her for a moment "Its short for Philippa but I don't like it."

He smiled "That makes more sense." He said. "I'm Jo, well Jonas, most people call me Jo." He looked to her and smiled "and you major in maths." He said rather then asked.

"Oh now how do you know that?!" she asked him. He chuckled and pointed to her book to which he cheeks turned pink. "Oh." She said suddenly feeling stupid. "And you?"

"theology. I'm in my fourth year. I'm looking to join the graduate program for master of divinity." He said.

"I thought you said you weren't looking to convert me?" she questioned.

"I'm not." He said with a smile. "Only God, he or she can do that." They stood in silence for a moment before he offered "Coffee?" he asked.

To Phil great surprise she found herself nodding.

* * *

*I like the KJV of this verse much better interesting it reads "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways _acknowledge_ him, and he shall _direct_ thy paths." Acknowledge and direct sound so much kinder! -Proverbs 3:5

**James 1:27

***Romans 8:31

**** Galatians 3:2


	29. AOTI Chapter 10

**_Hi Folks,_**

 ** _So I know I'm being rubbish at updating loving you forever, Its just I've had a busy few weeks and not been able to concentrate on it at all!_**

 ** _Well here it is, another chapter another heartache!_**

 ** _love_**

 ** _Carrots x_**

* * *

"Gil!" Ron called him as he arrived on the field. "Good man you came!" he said with a smile to him.

"Yeah." He said. "Can't let down my frat, can I?"

"There's the spirit. Now we can go easy on you if you like." He said honestly, "You don't have to jump."

"Of course, he does!" A small girl replied. She looked at him as if to dare him which irritated Gilbert a little. The girl had a smooth voice, with big dark blue eyes and twirling brown hair.

"Sis knock it off." Ron said. "Gilbert meet my daredevil sister Christine."

"Pleased to meet you." Gilbert tried with his hand to shake hers and she looked at it curiously.

"You're the Canadian, right?" she nodded "You wouldn't meet an American being polite." She said flashing her perfectly white and straight teeth.

"Daredevil?" Gilbert asked her.

"I like the kicks, I come on all of these, there's a group at NYC which do extreme sports if you'd be interested?"

"I um…" he stuttered. "See if I can handle the sky dive first." He said with a smile and a nervous laugh.

"Gil, this is Mark, Andrew, John and Rich." Ron rolled off as he introduced them. Gilbert smiled in hello and before he knew it he was being kitted out to go up, selfies of the group was being taken and he was being taken up in the helicopter.

* * *

Anne lay on her bed exhausted from the day she had. Professor Chambers had decided to add another three books to the reading list. As if the workload she had wasn't heavy enough, now she had to add more to it. Her brain numb, she was missing Gilbert terribly she played with the pearl bracelet on her arm then she flicked her phone and went onto facebook. Her heart raced as she sat up on her bed.

Gil had posted on facebook. He very rarely did!

She looked again reading the post as she went.

 _Sponsored Skydive for the kids #thelambsfrat #adrenalinerush #geniunelythoughtweweregoingtodie_

There he stood.

He didn't look heartbroken at all.

In fact far from it.

He was standing there right by _another_ women.

And she _was_ **beautiful**.

Everything she had wanted to be. Anne opened the picture and looked at it closer inspecting the tags. She knew the lambs were an all male frat, so what on earth was this girl doing in the picture? She pressed on the face to see if the tag "Lady Cordelia FitzGerald" would come up. She was even a little surprised when 'Christine Stuart' came up.

She was beautiful, deep dark blue eyes and twirly brown hair with plenty of sweet curves to her.

Anne looked down deflated at herself. She barely had a curve to her. She was practically straight up and down.

She looked back at the picture. Was… were they standing close? Anne sighed.

'Well,' she forced herself to think 'he couldn't have been all that 'in love' if less than a month later he's _flirting_ with someone else!' she thought feeling betrayed.

Anne suddenly didn't care how bad she felt, she jumped up and walked straight out the house. SO busy was she with her proud determination to show Gilbert Blythe just who could live with or without him she didn't notice the rainclouds gathering above her on what had been a very clear early February morning and when it started to rain Anne realised she had only came out in her hoodie.

 **"Pardon me—may I offer you the shelter of my umbrella?"**

 **Anne looked up. Tall and handsome and distinguished-looking—dark, melancholy, inscrutable eyes—melting, musical, sympathetic voice**. Anne had thought men like this only existed in books.

 **"Thank you," she said confusedly.**

 **"We'd better hurry over to that little pavillion on the point," suggested the unknown. "We can wait there until this shower is over. It is not likely to rain so heavily very long."**

 **Together they scurried to the pavilion and sat breathlessly down under its friendly roof.**

"Oh who would believe the day could turn so quickly!" Anne exclaimed to him. "Thank you all the same."

"We are schoolmates, I see," he said, smiling at Anne's hoody. "That ought to be sufficient introduction. My name is Royal Gardner. And you are Anne Shirley, aren't you?"

"Yes; but I cannot place you at all," said Anne, frankly. **"Please, where DO you belong?"**

" **I feel as if I didn't belong anywhere yet.** I'm a transfer student from Kings College. I've only exchanged at the beginning of this semester, I've seen you in some of my classes have I not?"

"This is my Sophomore year, and I am an English major" replied Anne. "But forgive me won't you, I can't say I noticed you."

"Well it's a big class and you always seem so quiet and solemn, what the month I've been here?"

"Just the case of the winter blues." She said quietly.

"I got that when I lived in Europe, well England for two years, the last two years of high school…"

The rain came steadily down for the best part of an hour where he talked of England. Anne sat feeling quite mute and uncultured. She'd never been out of Canada, so the faraway places of Europe, Britain, France, Spain, it all sounded very interesting, Anne barely noticed she hadn't muttered a word to him by the time they arrived back at Patty's place.

 **That evening a parcel was left at Patty's Place for Miss Shirley. It was a box containing a dozen magnificent roses. Phil pounced impertinently on the card that fell from it, read the name and the poetical quotation written on the back.**

 **"Royal Gardner!" she exclaimed. "Why, Anne, I didn't know you knew Roy!"**

 **"I met him in the park this afternoon in the rain,** " explained Anne hurriedly. "I didn't see the rain clouds and only had on my hoodie he came to my rescue with his umbrella."

"Oh!" Phil peered curiously at Anne. **"And is that exceedingly commonplace incident any reason why he should send you roses."**

 **"Don't talk nonsense, Phil**." She said swallowing, a feeling of guilt had entered her stomach though she knew not why "Do you know Roy?"

"I know of the The Gardners. **They are among the richest, bluest, of Bluenoses. Roy is adorably handsome and clever** and rich did I mention that? **I almost envy you, but not quite**. After all, Roy Gardner isn't Jonas."

Aunt Jimsie shook her head and opined that divinity students were not what they used to be.

 **"He's VERY nice, my dear," she told Phil, "but a man of God ought to be graver and more dignified."**

 **"Can't a man laugh and laugh and be a Christian still?" demanded Phil.**

 **"Oh, men—yes. But I was speaking of ministers, my dear,"** said Aunt Jimsie rebukingly. **"And you shouldn't flirt so with Mr. Blake—you really shouldn't."**

 **"I'm not flirting with him** ," protested Phil.

"You are flirting Phil." Anne laughed softly. "But Jo isn't **of the Alec-and-Alonzo type, Phil** ," said Anne kindly. " **He takes things seriously. You may break his heart**."

 **"Do you really think I could?" asked Phil. "I'd love to think so."**

" **Philippa Gordon! I never thought you were utterly unfeeling. The idea of you saying you'd love to break a man's heart!"** Aunt Jimsie reprimanded her.

 **"I didn't say so, honey. Quote me correctly. I said I'd like to think I could break it. I would like to know I had the power to do it."**

" **I don't understand you, Phil. You are leading that man on deliberately—and you know you don't mean anything by it**." Aunt Jimsie tried.

"I'm not." said Phil calmly. "I've been seeing him a month and he's simply divine." She said with a twist of her smile "forgive the pun." She sighed "You think I don't like him, I think he's the deepest most beautiful man I ever met."

"He's not all that handsome Phil and you know he's not rich."

"I know that." Phil protested again. "It's like Gilbert said to me his inner beauty and qualities out way the outward appearance and the fact his is poor has no bearing on my feelings for him. If I could have him and nothing else in the world it would make me happy." She said honestly. She then looked at Anne and saw she was almost white to the face. "Oh, Anne I didn't mean to bring…"

"It's okay." Anne said quietly, playing with the bracelet on her arm. "Gilbert was always very wise." She said quietly before she tried her best to smile.

Once in the safety of her room she took out her phone and looked at Facebook again. There he still was looking happy, without her and now she felt deflated all over again. It was then the icon popped up to say she had a friend request. She clicked on it to see "Royal Gardner." Anne smiled softly and accepted it.

She then posted on his wall _"The flowers were unnecessary, but appreciated. Thank you for rescuing me today."_

It was a matter of seconds later he replied _"Anytime, milady. See you in class."_

* * *

Gilbert finally made it back to his bed. Although he wasn't tired, he was still on the natural high of the skydive, that adrenaline had shot through him as he fell through the air. He felt… well he felt! He was terrified! But it wasn't numb! It was the first time in weeks he had felt anything towards anything. Adrenaline was powerful he had always known that but right now that high was still evident in him because when he picked up his phone and looked on Facebook to see the pictures and that's when the pit of pain hit him.

 _Anne Shirley is now friends with Royal Gardner._

 _Anne Shirley: The flowers were unnecessary, but appreciated. Thank you for rescuing me today._

 _Royal Gardner: Anytime, milady. See you in class_.

Anne had met someone.

Someone who bought her flowers and rescued her.

He knew the name, he'd heard of the Gardners. Several of the Lambs envied their wealth and that was saying something. Their son, obviously this Roy fella had wanted to run away from the stereo type Gardner so had run to a different university, his father died and so had been looking at transferring back to Kingsport, to Redmond. He had felt sorry for the boy initially, now he was burning with jealousy.

The pit quickly changed to the numbness which had became his constant companion lately.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He wanted to _feel_ again.

That's when Christine's dare came to mind.

"I dare you, if you liked that you'll love our daredevil group." She had said.

They had all exchanged friend requests that afternoon so he went to her wall and left the message

 _"Count me in."_

* * *

"How do I look?!" Diana exclaimed turning for Anne in her wedding dress.

"Simply divine!" Anne exclaimed. "The Bride of my dreams." Anne smiled. "Which is just as well since I doubt I'll be marrying anytime soon."

Diana looked to her friend in worry for a moment then brightened "what about Roy?" she asked with a smile.

Anne blushed slightly before she said "I don't think we're there quite yet Diana." Anne said honestly. "Though I can imagine I may fall in love with him. He's a good person and _very_ attentive."

"And sooo good looking!" Diana squealed, to which Anne laughed.

"This says nothing about Fred, Diana but you never went for just 'looks'." Anne said to her.

"I never had the option!" Diana exclaimed. "You seem to attract the handsome on…" Diana started the stopped suddenly. "I'm sorry Anne I didn't mean that."

Anne shook her head and smiled at her friend. "No its okay." Anne insisted though it did nothing to heal the pity in her stomach.

Diana looked to her friend in earnest "You know Gilbert didn't bring Christine with him, I'm sure it can't be all that serious if he didn't."

"I didn't bring Roy." Anne observed.

"Is it serious between you two?" Diana asked her.

Anne looked to her feet then stood up. "Today, is not about me or my very complicated life. Today is about you and Fred!" she exclaimed.

Diana laughed gently. "Its okay isn't it?" she asked Anne "Gilbert being best man."

"its too late to go changing your mind now!" Anne said sweetly. "Come now, best not leave him waiting too long, he'll think you changed your mind!"

Diana laughed and turned out of the room. Anne followed behind. It was when they left the room that Anne saw Gilbert for the first time since that night.

Gilbert's cheeks were a little flushed but he didn't give her eye contact instead offered his arm as they walked down the steps together. Anne couldn't take her eyes off him and tried her best to catch his eye but he refused to give it.

"Gil." She whispered at him as they stood at the top of the isle waiting to walk down.

"Not here." He whispered back and thought coldly to her still not looking at her "This is about Fred and Diana."

The wedding went off as planned, Gilbert attended like a best man should Anne like a Maid of honour should. It came to the evening and they had barely spent five minutes together.

This was unavoidable in the end. Anne saw the reluctance in his body language but he brought his hand out to her offering it for the dance. He turned her on the floor then held her in his arms. His head over her shoulder they swayed back and forth. Anne felt a few tears fall to his jacket, she knew then, she was never going to feel him close to her ever again. She slipped her arms around his middle and cuddled in there. He did nothing to encourage her, nothing to discourage her but Anne could feel him slipping through her fingers. He wasn't there, he was somewhere else in his mind. Maybe with Christine when the dance ended she slipped back pink in face, he wouldn't look instead his eyes were to the sky then to the ground before their eyes finally met, he saw the remaining tears and wiped them from her.

"Don't cry Anne." He whispered, then before she could respond he slipped away.

Anne felt like dropping to the floor in pain. It was then from nowhere Stephen Irving appeared, Anne didn't know if he had seen the way Gilbert leaving had effected her, but it was as if he were her knight in shining armour in that moment. "Hello Anne, I was wondering if I might have a dance with my favourite student?" He said with a smile to her. She nodded and wiped her eyes.

"Thank you Mr Irv… Stephen." She said with a smile "I haven't been your student for quite some time though." She said taking his hand. He took her in dancing pose.

"Doesn't mean you aren't my favourite student." He said with a smile to her. "How's college treating you? We haven't seen you since last summer. Is it how you expected it to be?" he said.

Anne managed a laugh "I am enjoying it but its nothing like I thought it would be, but that's okay, its better actually."

"Good, it should be that way." He said to her. "I heard Gilbert went on a student exchange programme last semester?"

"Yes, only the top applicate got to go in the science department, they had to take into consideration people on other programmes but Gil came out on top."

"He always does." Stephen said.

"Yeah." Anne whispered.

"So you've not seen him all semester then?" Stephen asked.

"No." Anne said quietly. "No I haven't."

By the time Anne finished dancing she looked for Gilbert for a few minutes where Fred said he went home early after having a headache. She went to Blythe farm the next day only to be told by Mr Blythe that Gilbert had left on the early plane. Anne handed Mr Blythe Gilbert's letterman's jacket and asked him to be sure it got back to Gilbert. She left feeling deflated, her stomach ached more. Anne knew after the day before she had to let go.


	30. AOTI Chapter 11

"Anne had hoped that bringing Roy to 'Slam funk the junk' would be at least partly fulfilling to her.  
It was the last week before they started studying for their finals, Anne felt cultured to the core.  
Roy had invited her to the theatre, he had wined and dined her at the finest restaurants, she had watched the orchestra play. Roy had become a good friend. They studied together, their courses the same. They thought the same.  
Anne had hoped doing something normal for her with him would give her some perspective as to where she came from and who she was, so they walked into that Tiny coffee shop and sat down. He went up to the counter without asking her what she would like and brought her back latte.  
"Oh." She said looking at the cup. "Um, thank you." She said slightly confused.  
"What's wrong?" he asked her.  
"Nothing." She said staring at the coffee cup. "They do a really nice Jasmine Tea here that's all." She said.  
"My apology." He said with a nod ready to take off and get her one.  
"No, its okay. A latte is fine." She assured him.  
He nodded and sat over from her, again Anne was surprised it meant he couldn't see the stage.  
"This is very cozy." He said looking around. "I didn't even know it was here." He admitted.  
"Hey Anne!" Another regular recognised her.  
"Hi Ash." She smiled at him.  
"We were beginning to think we'd lost you forever." he said. "no Gilbert?" he asked.  
Anne controlled her breathing at the mention of his name "No actually, he went to NYU on an exchange program for this semester, maybe even next." Anne admitted then with a chuckle managed "it would be quite the trek for him."  
To which the lad nodded in response then shuffled away.  
"Gilbert?" Roy asked.  
"Just a friend." Anne struggled to say it for some reason to which Roy nodded. "Actually he came from Avonlea with me, he's good friends with Charlie Sloane too." Anne added which seemed to put Roy at ease.  
"Ah, Charlie yes, so the same Gilbert who is class president?" Roy asked.  
"Thats right." Anne acknowledged. "he got elected when we won against the Jr class at the arts rush. If I remember correctly he copied the war plan from some war game with little soldiers... " she said with a shrug.  
"So not your type then." He said out loud as if to reassure himself.  
"Excuse me, I need to use the ladies." She said as she slipped out the seat and headed there.  
The door closed and locked behind her she let out a gasp of air.  
The topic of Gilbert was way too close to heart! Why did she bring him here?  
Roy had become a good friend over the past semester and he had filled a somewhat emptiness, it was times like this though she missed Gilbert.  
She'd watched in shock at his Facebook tags. Apparently, he'd taken to the extreme sports and she couldn't help but notice the pretty brunette tagged as 'Christine Stuart' was almost always standing beside him. Groups of them all stood their arms around each other smiling at the camera. Water rafting down dangerous and fast rivers, some of the hardest rock climbs in New York. Abseiling down buildings, parachutes... Things which even in his daredevil moments Anne knew he wouldn't normally try. This girl obviously had a pull on him. Anne's one consolation was that Gilbert's relationship status was marked as 'single'. It couldn't have been all that serious if he didn't acknowledge it online.  
She took a couple of deep breaths and clicked on Facebook on her phone.  
Surely this had been long enough. She missed him.  
Her heart plummeted into her stomach as she saw the words she dreaded to see.

 _Gilbert Blythe is in a relationship_.

Anne looked at it in shock for a moment her eyes filled with tears. Christine didn't need to be tagged, Anne knew it was her. Anne took a deep breath and decided on one thing.

She was not going to idly sit watching him have a relationship with someone else! She clicked on his profile and clicked on the 'unfollow' and 'see first' buttons. At least that way she wouldn't be watching it. She washed her face making sure there was no sign of her distress as she went back into the sit in area. She could see from Roy's face his surprise at it and his disdain.

"You aren't liking this." Anne said to him upon returning.  
"Well its butchering Keats. Deep and meaningful poetry turned to mush."  
"Its okay, we don't have to stay." Anne told him "lets go." She told him.  
"Are you sure?" he asked her.  
"Yes." She confirmed she needed to be as far away as possible from anything which reminded her of Gilbert.

This included.

* * *

They left the coffee shop and Roy took her to a branded shop which played generic Jazz in the background.  
"Now, they do green tea here." Roy said to her as he stood to go to the counter.  
"No." Anne said shaking her head. "A latte." She said with determination.  
He smiled widely "alright then."  
They sat and chattered for a while Anne had come to appreciate the finer things with him. Not only that she appreciated his serious soul. Though he would never sit and laugh at the 'Slam funk the junk' Anne didn't need it in her life.  
"I'm confused, why do you like it?" he asked her.  
"Oh, I…" she blushed. She wasn't about to tell him he's too serious. "I'm not sure." She said playing with her necklace.  
"What's the necklace you always wear?" he asked her.  
"Oh." She said looking at it for a moment. "Well, you see, my parents died when I was little and I went back to Bolingbrook where I grew up and, well it's a whole different story on how I got these but they came into my possession and they were my mom and dad's wedding rings, my mom's engagement ring and a ring my dad had made up to celebrate my birth, see it has my initials on." She said showing him.  
"Oh." He said looking a little shocked.  
"What?" she asked him.  
"No, I suppose, sorry you don't remember your parents?" he asked her.  
"Um, no." she admitted.  
"Then why keep it? And so close?" he asked her. "Its depressing."  
Anne's brow furrowed. "Haven't you kept anything of your dad's?" she asked him.  
"Well yes but I knew him." He said sitting straight. He looked at the necklace then to Anne. "You need something more delicate for that lovely neck of yours, let me buy you something for it." He said to her.  
"Oh no, you don't need to do that." She told him.  
"But I should, a neck so fine should be decorated for its own sake." He said with a smile.

"They walked up towards what Anne thought was Patty's place but he soon made a by-line for one of the big houses on Spofford Avenue. "Roy where are we going?" she asked him as they made their way up the drive.  
"This is my house." He told her as they arrived at the door.  
Anne eyes went wide in amazement. She knew Roy was Rich but not this rich! It was the biggest and oldest house on the block. "Oh." She said in amazement. "I see." She said.  
"Come in with me." He told her and he took her by the hand and they went into the house.  
Anne felt unprepared for the house she hadn't thought she was coming anywhere special. She was wearing her band t-shirt and her hair was in pigtails. Her glasses slipped as they went into the house.  
"Royal!" His mother greeted them. "You're back early." She said. She looked to Anne. "And you must be the young lady he won't shut up about." She said to her nose upturning slightly.  
Anne blushed. She really hadn't expected to be going back to meet his family. What an impression to leave on them!  
"Mom, this is my girlfriend Anne." He proclaimed.  
And the surprises kept on coming! Not only had she been short-sighted by meeting his family now she was his girlfriend too!  
"Pleased to meet you." His mother said but Anne was unsure of her sincerity.  
"I want to show you something." He told Anne taking her through the house.  
"Pleased to meet you." Anne managed to stutter before Roy took her out to the back of the house.  
Anne looked in amazement at the garden in front of her. "Our own private garden." Roy told her quietly. "I thought you might like the beauty."  
Anne looked out to the very large very organised and very beautiful garden. She smiled softly and said to him "its beautiful." She managed. It was true it was beautiful. It was an organised beauty which Anne could appreciate, it was nothing like the ruins of Hester's Garden, wild and free. ' Yes, this is different .' She thought, 'but I can learn to love it.'  
"Anne I'm sorry I got ahead of myself back there." He said to her taking her by hand. "I meant to ask you to be my girlfriend but words kept getting in the way." He told her. He turned her into him and put his arm around her "will you Anne?" he asked her leaning close into her.  
Anne froze in the moment, she couldn't make herself move through she knew what was coming. He brought his mouth to hers and he kissed her. Anne was confused for a moment expecting the same kind of feeling she had experienced with Gilbert to happen. She stopped to analyse it and upon realising the feeling wasn't coming she felt a strange sort of relief come over her. He pulled back and said lowly "I'll take that as a yes then." He said then kissed her again.  
He pulled back again and said "Oh Sweetheart!" he said to her holding her to him and she let him, because Roy was sweet, in a different way to Gilbert but still sweet, she could certainly learn to love him.

Anne had thought she was looking forward to coming home. She said thought because Davy had been acting very odd and when Roy had visited Davy had been downright rude. Muttering and not looking to Roy at all. It had gone unnoticed by Roy, thank heavens, he wasn't the observant type. On the second day Anne went to Davy when he was out in the garden playing with Paul.  
"Paul." Anne said with a smile. "What a surprise!" she smiled. "I need to speak to Davy if that's okay?" she asked him.  
"There's nothing you can say which you can't say in front of Paul." Davy said in defensively.  
"No I really think…"  
"Just say it!" Davy exclaimed.  
Anne took a breath. "You've been very rude to Roy, Davy, especially after he brought you a present by way of 'hello'…"  
"I don't need his gifts." Davy said moodly. "Its for a kid anyway…"  
"It doesn't matter what the gift is, Roy was thoughtful enough to bring you a gift Davy and he is our guest…"  
"No Anne, he's your guest." Davy corrected.  
"Davy!" she exclaimed in surprise. "what is the matter with you?!"  
At this he kicked the ball beyond the fence and turned red faced to Anne. "Tony Pye told Milty Boute that Gilbert won't come home!" he said. Anne looked in shock as he continued "Tony Pye said that Gilbert was heartbroken and wouldn't come home because it hurt too much." He swallowed then shouted at her "and its your fault and **his**!" Davy said.  
"Davy…" she started.  
"Did you break his heart?" Davy asked still shouting. Anne was mute and tears came to her eyes. "You can't even deny it. Gilbert is gone from the island he won't come back because the memories are too much which means he won't come here!" Davy said. "Did you even think about everyone else when you told Gilbert no?" he only rhetorically asked. "And why him ?!" He asked about Roy. "I can't see anything special about him and Milty Boute said you're a gold digger!"  
"Davy…" Anne tried again in a quiet voice.  
"I hate you!" Davy proclaimed before he ran into the house.  
Anne blinked back the tears. Before she realised Paul was still standing there quite dumbfounded "I'm sorry you had to see that Paul." She said quietly.  
Paul looked to her thoughtfully. "You miss Gilbert don't you?" he asked her. To which she didn't respond. "That's okay, the worse kind of grief we can't always vocalise." He said way too seriously for his age.  
"You should know nothing of that sort of grief Paul." Anne said to him gently her fingers playing with her bracelet.  
"I don't but I saw it in dad." He said. "when my mother left me and dad…"  
Anne looked to him amazed "How do you know about that?" she asked.  
"Mom and Dad don't know I know but I do. I heard a conversation a long time ago, I was meant to be asleep." He took a sigh. "Its okay, I never needed my birth mothers love, dad always loved me enough for two." He smiled. "but its nice having a mom now. My birth mom was called Angela and she left me, she didn't want me, dad did, that makes him a real dad, not biology." He sighed "but dad, he always seemed sad even when he was happy, before he found mom again." He looked to Anne seriously "you seem sad Anne, even when you're happy." He said. "Its because you miss Gilbert." He said.  
"I know I miss him, but he's asked for space, what else am I meant to do?" she said not really expecting an answer.  
"You know all I want when I ask for space is for someone to put their arms around me and hug me in and not let go." Paul said.  
"I haven't seen him all semester," Anne said quietly. "and if he does stay away all summer…" Anne trailed with a sigh. "I can't."  
Paul swallowed. "Don't leave it to long though eh Anne?" he said. "You don't want to lose years to this."  
Anne looked at Paul and put her arms around him. "When did you get so wise?" She said with a smile to him.  
He lop smiled for a moment which strangely reminded her of Gilbert. "I better go catch up with Davy." He said quietly and he ran across the yard to follow Davy.  
"Thing is Paul, I fear I already have." She whispered sadly before she felt a hand on her arm.  
"Is everything alright sweetheart?" Roy asked her. Anne knew he was genuinely concerned, he was sweet like that.  
"Yes." She said to him. "I was just trying to talk to Davy about his behaviour. I'm sorry." She told him turning into him.  
"No, no dear ," he said Anne felt a little condescended to, "it's just his age." Roy said brushing it off. Anne was glad he was able to brush it off so easily and he wasn't enquiring as to the real reason for Davy's behaviour. He looked to the house "it's a rustic house." He said looking to the house. "Full of charms of its own. Quaint."  
"Doesn't it?!" Anne asked him. "Do you like it?" she asked.  
"Well it isn't Kingsport but its charming." He said to her.  
"Come for a walk." She said to him. "I'll show you some old haunts."  
Anne walked him through the woods through dryad's bubble and the white way to delight, as well as down to the lake of shining water.  
"You've given them such imaginative names." He said with a smile. "I want you to give Kingsport places these names." He said with a smile to her. She took a deep breath not daring admitting she'd already done that with Gilbert in first year. She smiled at the memory for a minute at Gilbert joining in. "What makes you smile so?" he asked her.  
"Oh nothing." She said shaking her head. "Just thinking of names for places in Kingsport." She lied. "Come on." She told him "we're almost there." She said pulling him on. She walked past areas of old haunts with Gilbert but didn't point them out to Roy her stomach turning in her. The turning for Hester's garden and the cut towards the apple tree. Those were too private and intimate between her and another man.  
She blushed but blamed it on the walk.  
Since when had Gilbert became the other man?!  
"Ah a coffee shop!" Roy exclaimed upon coming into town. "Finally, something I know."  
Anne laughed thinking it was a joke and he looked confused at her. "Sorry wasn't it a joke?" she asked him.  
"No." he said confused. "What's funny?" he asked.  
"Nothing." She said finishing her giggle.  
"Latte?" he asked her, to which she didn't even nod but she took a seat while he got the coffees.  
It was when Roy was at the counter that she looked up to see Mrs Blythe come in the shop, it was unavoidable. "Hello Mrs Blythe." Anne blushed.  
"Hello Anne." She said shortly.  
Anne felt her heart break a little. She didn't know what to expect really, her son was gone and she hadn't seen him for quite some time. "How are you?" She tried softly.  
"Fine, thank you." She said equally as short.  
Anne could almost feel the tears gather in her eyes. "How's…" she trailed his name wouldn't pass her lips. "…your family?" she asked desperate not to hear of Gilbert's love life but desperate to hear of him .  
"Gilbert won't be coming back to the island this summer." She informed her. "He has a job in a lab in New York."  
"Oh." Anne said her heart racing. "He'll find that interesting then?"  
"He should, but he should be home." Mrs Blythe said to her accusingly. "But then he's staying up at NYU for another semester, playing games with his life with that ridiculous thrill group."  
"Mrs Blythe…" Anne started.  
"But we both know why he won't be home any time soon don't we Anne ?" Mrs Blythe said looking in the direction of Roy then looked to Anne and before Anne had the chance to return she said "excuse me." And left the coffee shop again.  
Anne took a deep breath and the deep pit returned to her stomach again. This feeling was endless, was it ever going to go away?

Roy had come to Green Gables at least once a week during the summer, except for two weeks in August where he went with his family to their castle in Spain. Anne had thought he was kidding but this chateau was like a castle by the skyping Roy did once a week with her. Built in 1740s it was a seafront building. Anne couldn't believe it! The words 'charming and quaint' now seemed rather insulting to her beloved Green Gables although she was sure Roy didn't actually mean it as an insult but in relative to his literal castle in Spain, it must seem positively tiny.


	31. AOTI Chapter 12

**I love that we all don't like Roy!**

* * *

It was early September after the beginning of term that they were out particularly late and they were walking back down Spofford Avenue.

"Its been a lovely night sweetheart." He whispered to her.

"Yes it has." Anne agreed. It had been a lovely night, really. He'd arrived at Patty's place with a beautiful pink and blue orchid, Anne had worn her A-line dress which was knee length and chiffon.

"Darling you look divine! If I were to present your picture in heaven, so many angels will hide their face in shame." He told her.

"Is that where the weeping angels get it from?" she asked smiled.

"Excuse me? Weeping Angels?" he asked.

"Yes, from Doctor Who." She said her face falling when she saw he didn't get the reference "It doesn't matter." She said shaking her head. "It was a lovely compliment." She said with a smile. "Well, goodnight then." He said kissing her lightly on the lips. "Unless of course you've reconsidered?" he asked her.

Anne looked to him seriously for a moment before she said "goodnight Roy." She kissed him on his cheek opened the door to Patty's place and said "thank you for a lovely evening." Before she shut the door.

Anne climbed the stairs of Patty's place not wanting to talk to anyone in particular about Roy.

 _He'd taken her to the Dress Circle at the theatre and saw the ballet of Swan Lake, it had been an early showing starting at four so it was now about five. He's presented her at a limo when they left and they went in it for half an hour. Ten minutes into the drive Anne looked in anticipation "Its alright sweetheart, I'll have you home by midnight." He murmured to her. He had taken her to Luckett's Vineyard. It was there they wine tasted followed by the five course meal with the chef himself. Roy escorted Anne back to the limo and sat on the backseat with her._

 _"You know what I like about wine?" he asked her his hand going just above her knee making her jump._

 _"I…" she hesitated. "Um."_

 _"_ _It makes me feel…" he said the whispered something to her as his hand slid up her leg._

 _She gasped and pulled back. "Roy." She said shaking her head. "Can we not?" she asked of him._

 _"_ _But love, you know tonight, is our three-month anniversary. Its time." He whispered to her his hand still on her leg._

 _"_ _There's not a stop watch is there?" Anne tried lightly but soon knew it wasn't working._

 _"_ _Call Patty's place…" he whispered. "and tell them you'll be out all night." He continued trying again to gain access._

 _"_ _Stop!" she tried "please Roy don't." she told him._

 _He stopped and pulled back looking at her seriously. "You're being serious?" he asked her finally letting go._

 _Anne swallowed and looked away blushing feeling exposed in her knee length dress all of a sudden. She could feel her cheeks burning._

 _Roy looked at her seriously and asked "Anne, are you still a virgin?" he asked her. She blushed and looked away not answering the question. "Oh Sweetheart!" he exclaimed taking her in his arms overbearingly "I'm sorry I should have been more sensitive." He said to her. "No one left private school a virgin." He shrugged "I thought it was the same everywhere." He said frankly. "You need more time of course you do." He whispered. "Anne, I'm sorry." He said to her not trying again._

 _Anne swallowed and tried her best to relax but it just wasn't happening. "Its okay." She said quietly. "you…. I…." she tried._

 _"_ _No Anne of course we need to go slower, we'll start again yes? We'll work up to that sort of intimacy." He told her._

 _"_ _Slower." Anne acknowledged her heart racing at the near miss._

She sat on her bed and took a deep sigh of relief.

* * *

"Gilbert!" Christine called catching up to him.

"Hey." He said with a smile. "Where's the fire?" he joked.

"You walk fast." She teased him. "I've been chasing you since fifth street."

He laughed. "Sorry old habits, on the island I walked everywhere and a quick mover on the football team."

"Oh Speaking of which, I can make it to the game Friday." She smiled with a flutter of the eyelid.

He nodded "Good I'm glad. You know I'm picking up quite a few hints on managing a football team from Andy I want to take back to Redmond with me." He acknowledged.

"Oh?" she asked. "Are they holding open your captainship until you get back?" she asked.

"Promised me." He smiled. "and I have to keep up my football skills I am scholarship after all."

"Speaking of Redmond…" she smiled "I got my space on the music programme!" she exclaimed.

He gave a wide smile "Congratulations!" he said to her.

"I'm so relieved I'll have someone I know there, and a Sophomore no less, it'll be grand to have a Sophomore on my arm as a freshman."

To which Gilbert laughed "Glad to be of service."

She slipped her arm through his and smiled up at him. "Do you think your friends will like me in Redmond?" she asked him.

He rolled his eyes and looked down at her "You know they will Christine, don't play." He told her.

"Oh you're no fun!" she exclaimed slipping him playfully, where she decided to change the subject. "Are you going home for Christmas?" she asked him.

"Yes, but my flight is on the night before Christmas Eve and I leave the morning after boxing day for Kingsport again, I managed to get my job at the newspaper back."

"Oh Gil, you work too hard." She reprimanded him.

"I work to get through university." He told her.

"And you're so serious." She huffed. "I'm sure there's a playful fella in there, but we never see him unless you're jumping out of something." She looked at him for a few moments before she said "What of that when you get back to Kingsport? Are you just going to drop it?" she asked him.

"No." he said honestly. "I've looked online and I'm lining up some stunts when we get back." He smiled.

"There you are!" she laughed.

* * *

"Earth to Gilbert?!" Christine said snapping her fingers in front of him.

"Um?" he asked.

Christine smiled at him as she could see his focus change when he looked back. "Are you alright?" she asked him. She looked to where he'd been looking and saw a rather pretty redhead. "Do you know her?"

"I ur… she um… we went to high school together." He said still dazed.

"Oh." Christine said rather disappointed.

"It's alright," Gilbert told Christine "we.. um… we haven't talked in over a year."

"Oh." Christine said. "Jilted lover?" she asked him, cutting far too close to the bone she saw him flinch which confirmed what she said. "Oh?!"

Anne had thought tonight was going to be an easy night, an appearance at the Gardener's Ball (yes, same Gardener, they had donated a huge amount of money towards the university hence the ball) Roy had also taken Anne to a dressmaker to make a custom dress just for her.

The dress was far too much money Anne felt comfortable in wearing but it was a beautiful dress. She should have known the Lambs would be here. What she didn't know was that, and she was now acutely aware of was that Christine had come back with Gilbert, who was now standing talking with Gilbert. He was stood under the ferns and Anne felt put out. He hadn't even noticed her since he was standing talking to the beauty of Christine. 'I can't just switch off my feelings for you!' he had told her. 'clearly he can' she thought sadly. She sighed sadly. Christine was beautiful it was no wonder he had fallen for her line and sinker. Her hair was a nut brown her eyes were a gorgeous blue she had perfect perky curves, and even in winter a beautiful tan, Anne took a deep breath and ignored the empty and pitiful feeling she had in her stomach.

"Are you alright sweetheart?" she heard the smooth voice beside her.

"Yes." Anne said nodding finally pulling her eyes away from Gilbert forcing her focus to Roy. "everything is fine."

It wasn't long before Roy was doing his rounds in the room, Anne silently following him giving pretty smiles and pretty opinions to 'their' guests (his words not hers) it didn't take long for them to reach Gilbert.

Roy looked up at the name when Gilbert introduced himself. "Then you know Anne already?" He questioned.

"well…" Gilbert started.

"She said you went to high school together." Roy continued almost ignoring Gilbert. "she's already introduced me to Charlie and his charming girlfriend Josie came out to a dance last semester." Roy said all at once. "Charming friends." He smiled genuinely. He looked to Christine "and is this your girlfriend?" Roy asked Gilbert.

"Christine Stuart." She smiled holding her hand out in front of Roy to which he promptly kissed.

It was only then their eyes met. They found themselves unable to speak, the words couldn't come between them. Anne could feel her hand wanting the contour of his against her. He could feel the pull of her eyes begging to be held.

She looked different, her hair had cut in bangs and she was missing the necklace of her parents, she hadn't taken it off since she had put it on back in high school, she'd worn it every day, to everything. Gilbert suddenly felt he had never really known Anne at all.

To them it seemed like an eternity but it couldn't have been more than a few seconds as Roy asked Anne "So that means you haven't met Miss Stuart yet Anne?"

"No." Anne said her mind being pulled from their world into reality. The contrast was so harsh and unfair. "No." she said again.

"Pleasure I'm sure." Christine said and Anne was sure there was some coldness to her voice sad that he didn't know the girl in front of him anymore, voice. Surely Gilbert hadn't told his now girlfriend the story of an old flame? And why should that make her mad now? If they had got together it would have meant that she wouldn't have him as a boyfriend, so really Anne had done her a favour over a year ago. "Fancy a turn on the floor?" Christine said turning her full body to Gilbert and offering her hand. Gilbert's cheeks coloured slightly but took her hand all the same.

"what a splendid idea." Roy said taking Anne by the hand and following suit.

* * *

The rest of the night ran smoothly at evenings end Roy suggested leaving a little early which Anne was only too pleased to accommodate, anything to be away from Gilbert's new life.

Roy took them back to his house and offered Anne to sit in the front room with his sister Ailne while he spoke to his mother.

Anne sat awkwardly not a word passed between them for three minutes before his other sister entered the room.

"You must be Anne?" she said with a friendly smile "I'm Doll." She introduced herself.

"Its Dorothy." The other sister corrected severely. "Don't insist on calling yourself by that ridiculous name, you're just like Royal."

"Daddy gave us all nicknames Laina." Doll corrected her sister sweetly.

"And 'father' went and died didn't he?" Aline continued.

"Is that the reason you're not talking to Anne? Because daddy died?" Doll retorted.

"I'm not talking to her because she is beneath me."

"Laina!" Doll exclaimed shocked "Daddy said…"

"Never mind what daddy said." Ailne said obviously upset "look where it got him!" to which she stood up and opened the door.

"She's sleeping in my room!" Roy could be heard shouting "I'm not a teenager anymore mother! I use protection there's no reason why she can't she is my girlfriend."

"I will not have her in the same bed as you!" was heard.

A malevolent smirk could be seen on Ailne's face before she said "Pleasure to meet you." And she closed the door behind her.

Doll cut the tension quickly "Roy is like daddy." She said quickly with a sweet smile to Anne. "He's very attentive and sweet isn't he?"

"Yes." Anne replied almost felt pressed into saying it. Oh, it wasn't that Roy wasn't but there was something about the speed by which he expected their relationship to move. She hadn't known him long and often before they started dating but then once dating he had tried at three months then almost on a weekly basis he made moves towards, an intimacy Anne wasn't ready for. He never forced it but it was creating a void between them.

"Laina is like mummy." She tried to move the conversation on. Anne smiled sweetly at the girl. She could be no older then sixteen, it must be murder for her to live in this house. "You live at Patty's place at the end of the street, don't you?" she asked her. To which Anne nodded. "Oh I love that house, it looks so cosy." She smiled.

Anne looked to the girl "Do you like cosy Doll?" she asked her.

"Oh yes." She said with a sigh. "I have the room at the back even though it's the smallest, well it used to be the guest room and I had what is now the guest room but it was too big just for me. I mean not even my room now is small but I just wanted a room that was mine you know?" she asked.

Anne smiled. "I got adopted at a late age and grew up in dorms when I wasn't with a family. I always felt a little alone in big bedrooms. My room back home is cosy. It is here, my little blue room."

"Can I come and visit you?" Doll asked her.

Anne laughed at her outburst then said "Of course you can." As the door opened and Roy stood on the other side.

"Coming sweetheart?" he asked Anne to which she stood. "Hello Doll." He said with a smile to his sister.

Doll smiled. "I like this one." She told him straight, "she's a keeper."

Roy chuckled sweetly as Anne took his hand. "I know that kid." He agreed with her. "Night little one."

"Night." She smiled.

Roy did indeed take Anne up to his bedroom.

"Does your mother not know you've brought me up here before?" she asked him.

"I don't understand her reaction." He said honestly. "I've brought other girlfriends up here before."

Anne stomach dropped.

"Sorry sweetheart, you don't need to hear about ex-girlfriends."

"Plural?" she asked shocked. "How many girlfriends have you had?" she asked him.

"Oh, um…" he started. "well, three I brought back home."

Her eyes widened. "Have you, I mean did you with all of them?" she asked him.

"Well, yes." He admitted. "Not all here, some were at boarding school." He admitted. Her head spun at the word some. It didn't make her feel any better. "I'm sure once we get started we'll be fine." He said to her holding her in his arms trying to comfort her but it brought none. He kissed her gently at first then held her close to him. "I love you." He whispered before he started kissing down her neck.

"Roy, wait." She whispered. "Please…"

He pulled back sharply and yelled "what is the matter with you!?" he demanded. "We've been together _eight_ months Anne, you're killing me here!"

Anne cheeks coloured and she spoke quietly "It's not a stop watch thing Roy." she said tears filling her eyes "just I don't… I'm not there yet."

"What can I do to make you want me?" he asked her his own cheeks going red.

"Nothing!" Anne exclaimed "Roy, its nothing you're doing or not doing, there's nothing wrong with you." She told him.

"Oh, then I'm not wantable." He said to her. "Just fine whatever. I buy you pretty clothes your hair is straighten chemically with my money…"

"I didn't ask you for these things and I can't be bought Roy!" she exclaimed.

"No you won't be will you?" he stated "Maybe I should find someone who will be, They are a hell of a lot easier to get into bed!"

Anne couldn't believe what she was hearing, then something inside of her snapped to make the old Anne surface for a moment "then maybe you should." She said to him before she grabbed her purse from his desk.

As she reached for the door he said to her "You understand this means we've broken up." He told her.

She chuckled and bit her bottom lip she opened the door and said to him "go get your hooker Royal."

She landed back on her bed at Patty's place tears had been flowing since she left Roy's house but simply out of relief. She took a deep breath and reached into her underwear draw and pulled out the old framed picture of her and Gilbert. They had been hanging out for the day he had an old flat cap on with a shirt and suspenders attached to his trousers. The picture had been a silly one they both had on some of her old reading glasses thick framed her head above his she used her hair as a fake moustache on him. His eyes wide looking at the taker of the picture (Phil) and looking down at him laughing. She ran her hand over his face and started talking. "Hey." She whispered. "Has it been long enough yet?" she asked the image. "I miss you." She said as she started to sob again. "Its not the same though now, is it?" she asked him. "Tell me Gil, tell me something, anything to make this right." She let the air out of her lungs. "This is pathetic." She said her eyes rolling putting the picture back. "Going back to the imagine of the man _I_ rejected because _I_ broke up with someone else." She said closing the draw and wiping her eyes. She got ready for bed brushing her hair she took of the makeup and went to sleep.

 _"_ _Hey Shirley." He said as she opened her eyes. She was lying under the apple tree in Green Gables orchard in the green dress she had just taken off. He was wearing the clothes he was wearing in the picture she put down just before bed. Anne watched him as he walked his basic shape she had missed before she looked at now, she never supposed men had different body type like women do, Roy was the invert of Gilbert she reflected, Gilbert was more weighted on top his shoulders broad his stomach and hips were small, she could safely admire him for some reason here. She was safe with him. "You look like you could have grown from there." He teased her reaching for an apple above him snapped it off the tree and took a bite._

 _"_ _Why am I wearing this dress here?" she questioned._

 _"_ _That's not the question you really wanted answering." He said in his 'I-know-you-Anne-Shirley-tone.' He sat on the white wooden bench which sat in the orchard and continued to eat the apple. "Come sit next to me." He offered._

 _She stood, looked at him and asked "are we still friends?" she asked him._

 _"_ _What kind of question is that?" he told her. "we're kindred remember?" he asked her._

 _Anne took a breath of relief though she didn't know why. "Am I dreaming?" she asked him._

 _His lips upturned into the teasing smile "Am I your dream guy?" he asked her on the back of it._

 _"_ _Shut up!" she said play shoving him and he chuckled back._

 _"_ _If it is a dream you're making me say it, it's your subconscious, not mine." He shrugged "which begs the question, what am I doing here Anne Shirley?"_

 _She sighed "I miss you I suppose, just wanted to talk to you like old times."_

 _His bottom lip protruded and he nodded. "I miss you Shirley." He told her._

 _"_ _No, you don't." she snapped at him. "Don't make stuff up."_

 _"_ _It's your dream." He reminded her._

 _"_ _You're in love with someone else." She told him._

 _"_ _I want your love." He said to her, just as he had all that time ago in the park, which made her gasp._

 _"_ _Then why are you with her?!" She asked, to which the dream Gilbert looked away over the fence and said nothing._

 _She finally sat beside him and took his arm putting it around her. "Let's not argue, Phil will be in here any minute waking me from this dream and I just want to feel like its us again." She swallowed "get rid of this pit in my stomach." She whispered._

 _"_ _Roy." He whispered to her gently "do you love him Anne?" he asked her._

 _"_ _I…" she started._

 _"_ _Why is it me here and not him?" he questioned._

 _"_ _Gil please." She whispered. "Please just let it be us, like old times please?"_

 _"_ _It's your dream." He whispered, then before she knew it he took her hand and they were running through a meadow in Avonlea their hands parted and he ran ahead._

 _"_ _Keep up Shirley!" he exclaimed as she went faster. "That's my girl!" he laughed as she pulled ahead. She laughed as he fell behind then he broke into a sprint._

 _"_ _Gilbert Blythe!" she demanded. "Let me win!" she continued. "Even in my dreams, let me win!" she exclaimed._

 _He stopped suddenly with a boyish grin, she knew what he was about to do she started to run but it was too late "No!" she laughed "No Gilbert Blythe no!" she called laughing in delight he picked her up over his shoulder._

 _"_ _No such luck Shirley!" he called to her as she laughed her hands right by his backside she started slapping it playfully to which he only laughed more. It was then they were both surprised when he slipped in the ditch and they both went tumbling to the ground where they both burst into laughter, they were a tangled mess on the ground but they shuffled around until she was able to slide her arms around him and she hugged him in close._

 _"_ _I miss you Blythe." She told him._

 _"_ _You too Shirley." He told her._


	32. AOTI Chapter 13

I've done very little writing over the past few weeks these have all been written as a whole for weeks, I'm working on the equivalent time of Gilbert at medical school and the beginning of being married and I have a few ideas just not on paper yet. lets just slow it down! (I'm kidding I'm not) but you may have some radio silence for a while from me while I work on it!

But _**right now**_ we are here and its very painful, but trust me the time is coming where they'll be able to talk again, where they are happy and together and what Anne is hiding from Gilbert will be said and she'll see, its **_him_**... its always been Gilbert!

Just wait!

love

Carrots x

* * *

It was less than 48 hours later when Roy appeared at Patty's place, with 24 red roses. He looked sadly at her as she entered the front room and everyone else made themselves scarce for a while.

"What do you want?" Anne asked him.

"To apologise." He admitted.

She swallowed and looked at the flowers "and you do that with grand gestures of pretty flowers?" she asked him.

"They are cliché for a reason." He admitted before he put them on the coffee table. "Flowers aside." He continued "I didn't mean what I said."

"which was?" she asked, wondering if he knew what he did wrong.

"I didn't mean to push you into making a decision over having sex." He told her. "Tell me love where am I going wrong?"

She sat on the sofa and he followed suit. "You do as you say you will and you give me time to think, but its only a couple of weeks and just when I start to feel not intimated by your past…" she thought for a moment before she continued "…proposals, you're pressing again for an answer that I'm not ready to give yet."

He nodded thoughtfully. "Can we try again Anne?" he asked her, not giving her the chance to answer he kissed her then said "there all is well."

Anne sighed, she knew not all was well but was past breaking objects over boys head. She reprimanded herself for thinking of Gilbert then changed the subject "Can I ask you something?" she asked him.

"Of course." He assured her.

"Well, just, the other night I said to go and get…" she trailed and with red cheek "it won't change anything we were broken up but I just need to know, did you?" she asked him. He swallowed and looked to her with guilty face. To which she nodded in understanding of what he was saying but not.

"Start over?" he asked her.

"Start over." She agreed.

* * *

Anne opened the door at Patty's place to find Mrs Gardner on the other side. "Mrs Gardner?" Anne said surprised.

"Hello Anne." She said to her. "May I come in?" she asked Anne.

Anne looked surprised and nodded her head then said "Yes of course, come in please." She agreed.

Mrs Gardner went into the front room to find not one but three cats there. She looked to the animals with an offensive glare. "Are these all yours?" she accused Anne.

Anne looked to the felines and smiled. There was only three but they reminded her of the Mrs Blythe who didn't hate her. The cat she had been stroking in particular 'Rusty' was her particular favourite, they had gone through a rough patch immediately after Gilbert had stopped coming, Rusty had loved Gilbert. But the cat soon came to realise Anne missed him as much as she did so took comfort in Anne again. "Only Rusty." She admitted.

"I see." She said her nose upturning. Anne's smile reflected her inside 'Mrs Blythe would talk you down'. She thought. "I'm here Anne out of concern for my boy." She said perching on the end of the chair in the corner.

"Oh?" Anne asked.

"It's not against you Anne, exactly but you weren't breed for him." She continued. "well for the role, you understand."

Anne looked confused. "I'm afraid I don't Mrs Gardner."

"The women he marries needs a certain, social standing." She tried.

Anne chuckled and looked to her "You're being serious?" she asked her. "Mrs Gardner, the type of relationship you have with your son is between you and him and if you are privy to his intimate love life then again that is between you and he, but you are not privy to mine." Anne told her.

"But it concerns me, it concerns all of us!" Mrs Gardner continued. "You have no money, no connections, you come from nowhere and expect…"

"I _expect_ nothing." Anne told her. "Excuse me Mrs Gardner I thought Royal made it clear the other night, he would use protection."

"well yes…" she said.

"Then the rest is none of your business." She paused only for breath "and as for his responsibilities to his social connections, I would suggest consulting him."

"I know he's having sex!" Mrs Gardner demanded. "The maid found the condoms in his bin!"

Anne heart raced. 'Condoms? More _than_ one' she wondered but soon looked to Mrs Gardner "if he is having sex, its not with me!" she told her annoyed.

Mrs Gardner looked to her and remained silent for a moment. "Really?" Anne took a deep breath her mouth clamped shut and raised her eyebrow while moving her head in acknowledgement. "I think you are right, not having sex with him dear." Mrs Gardner said.

Anne folded her arms then said "We will make that decision Mrs Gardner." Anne told her. "Not you."

"I see." She said finally standing. "I was hoping to come here to make peace Miss Shirley."

"You were hoping to make peace by demanding details of my intimate love life?"  
"My son's love life."

"Well I think we've proven they are not one and the same thing." Anne said to her.

* * *

"Anne there's post for you!" Phil called to her.

Anne came down the stairs and looked at the envelope as Phil handed it to her. "Oh," she said confused. "Its from my publishers." She said confused, she dropped her bag and opened the envelope and read the contents. "What!?" she exclaimed confused.

"Anne?" Phil asked.

"No!" She protested turning on her heal and walking up the stairs. "No no…"

"Anne!" Phil called after her not really believing Anne would just up and go like she did, Phil followed her up the stairs to her bedroom door.

"Oh. No no no!" Anne protested opening her door, she quickly reached into some papers and read what was on there too. "No." She said tears had stared forming "I can't believe it, they can do it and I can't do anything about it!" Anne protested.

"Anne!" Phil exclaimed holding her by her arms for a second, "snap out of it and explain to me what's happened!" Phil demanded.

"My story, the one of Averil, that I wrote back in freshman year." Anne started. "Well when I signed with the publisher in the contract it says they can use the material in written 'and like media', well-meaning or at least I thought newspapers and magazines…." She exclaimed "But they written here to tell me it's to be used in an infomercial… for chewing gum!" Anne exclaimed.

"Chewing gum?" Phil questioned. "Well Gil and I read it and there was nothing about chewing gum in it? Was there?" she asked.

"No, they've 'amended accordingly' and they can and they can use it its right here in the contract!" she exclaimed her tears now rolling down her face.

"Let me look at that!" Phil exclaimed. "My Daddy is a lawyer if there's a loophole we'll find it."

"It's too late they're airing it in three days time!" Anne said.

To which they heard a knock at the door downstairs. Phil went to answer it and returned with a concerned looking Roy.

"Oh sweetheart!" he said sympathetically sweeping her up in his arms "What's making you cry so much?" he said smoothly sitting on her bed with her.

"My story was with the publishers and they took it and changed it for a chewing gum advert!" she cried.

He looked at her for a moment and paused "A chewing... Is this over a fictional character?"

"Averil was my romance!" she said sniffing still.

He looked at her and told her "But that's what you have me for." He said rubbing her arm with his hand. "Hey, all this crying over a fictional character is ridiculous, you'll see in time it doesn't matter." He said to her. She looked up at him and took a deep sigh. He was being genuine and she did know it was silly really.

"Let me take you out." He said with a smile.

"Roy, you don't need to." Anne protested.

"No dear, but I want to." He told her.

* * *

"Gil come on!" Christine called him "the game is about to start again!"

"I'm coming!" he exclaimed, running back from the kitchen. "I can't believe you don't have these in America." He said opening his ketchup flavoured chips. "Um." He said as he popped one in his mouth.

"Do you two want to be alone?" Christine asked him with a grin.

"Alas you would satisfy me until half time." He said talking to the packet. "Not a very lasting relationship is it?" he said popping another one in his mouth. "Want one?" he asked her offering her the bag.

"No thanks, gluten." She said shaking her head.

He looked confused for a moment before he looked at the bag. "I'm pretty sure these are gluten free." He admitted looking at the information on the back.

"Fat then, either way I'm not eating them and I don't know how you can." She told him.

"Live a little." Gilbert said with a smile.

"You're pre-med, you know you shouldn't eat such trash." She said with a huff.

"I'm not pre-med yet, I've not got my MCAT back yet." He reminded her.

"Oh, you'll pass and you know it, and anyway the point of all this..." she said her hand flung out to the relaxed atmosphere "was to get you to forget about MCAT and midterms, I feel like I've not seen you all semester."

"If I want to get into Medical School I had to study for my MCAT."

"Study yes, you don't have to become a hermit and get top marks for everything you know."

His face very quickly dropped with the name 'Averil' came up on the infomercial. He looked in amazement at the television moving forward on the sofa.

"You'll never…" she started

"Shhhh!" he said trying to listen to it.

His heart dropped to his stomach. This was part of Anne's story. Changed, but undoubtedly hers. His mouth fell open and he whispered "Oh Anne." He said, knowing she would be devastated.

Christine didn't hear what he had said but could see Gilbert's reaction. "Gilbert?" she asked him, as the advert came to an end.

"I have to go." He said standing up.

"Now?" she asked him. "We're in a middle of a game?" she asked him.

"I don't care about the game." He said picking up his keys and said to her "see you later Christine." He said blindly and walked out the door. He got in his car and turned the keys.

"Averil, it had to be Averil." He said to himself shaking his head. "It just a story Blythe," he reminded himself "but it's not how she will see it." He continued to talk to himself, pausing for a moment. "That was her baby," he told the empty space. "and now its been tattooed over a chewing gum advert." He shook his head. "She won't think of the extra money or publicity, she doesn't care about that, she's a romantic soul." He found himself over the road from of Patty's place he parked but didn't stop the engine as suddenly remembered.

He hadn't talked to Anne in over a year.

One years 10 months and 24 days to be precise.

And it hit him all over again.

He'd been working off instinct.

He missed her.

The door opened and she came out with him. Unaware of his presence he watched her come outside. Her eyes weren't sparkling there was a hallowness there which pained him. He stopped himself from getting out of the car and holding her tight until the hallow went and she was herself again. It hurt him to do it. But he couldn't, not with him there. He pulled out the spot and moved away.

He had no place here.

* * *

Anne felt the car go past and she looked to it curiously.

"Is everything okay sweetheart?" Roy asked her.

"Yes." Anne said. "Just thought I saw an old friend." She admitted and she shook her head before she pushed her glasses back up her face and said "Now where's my coffee?" she asked him.

* * *

 _"_ _You again?" she asked him sitting beside him on her bed._

 _"_ _I just keep coming back." He said._

 _She looked to him curiously. "Was that you in the car today?" she asked him._

 _"_ _Yes." He said._

 _"_ _You would say that, figment of my imagination." She huffed._

 _"_ _well what does that say about your subconscious?" he asked her, "You wanted it to be me?" he asked._

 _"_ _Of course I wanted it to be you. I don't need to go to my subconscious to figure that out."_

 _"_ _And what would I say? If it was me?" he asked her._

 _"_ _That I'm a romantic soul, that I should do something practical with the extra money, that no one will mock me, that all the greats have been reduced down to popular culture, that one day, I will write a great Canadian Novel, that I can be whoever I want to be." She said._

 _He nodded. "That's exactly what I'd say." He agreed. "So?" he asked._

 _"_ _So?" she reflected.  
"Why don't you believe it?" he asked her._

It was then she woke up. It took her a few moment before she got up and moved towards her underwear draw, pulling out the old picture. She sat on her bed and looked at the picture again.

She took a couple of times to say it between small sobs into the night but she eventually managed. "Because you didn't say it."

* * *

Gilbert was walking down Main Street when he saw it in the window. He stopped and looked at for a moment smiling as the memory played back in his head.

 _Seventeen year old Gilbert was at a loss as to how to get Anne Shirley to talk to him. The detentions were a long and hard slug and he was opening up to her like her had never opened up to anyone before. This it seemed couldn't be helped. He was sure her spirit cared just her outward appearance didn't._

 _So he would try it the old fashioned way._

 _He had sweet talked Diana into finding out her favourite flowers, which were Lily of the Valley's, this had made him smile. Daisies were Ruby's, Orchids were Josie's, Roses were Diana's. Each one revealing part of the girls personalities, Ruby was happy and sunny, Josie was aloof and had a superiority complex, Diana was your classical lady._

 _Lily of the Valley's were delicate and beautiful, humble and sweet, and were said to bring luck in love and also in the right circumstances deadly. So he had bought her flowers, not wanting to see them go to waste he decided not to sign the card._

 _So he had gone to the sweet shop expecting to buy chocolates, but then he looked up and it hit him._

 _Each lesson he made it into the lesson before her and each time she walked in she found a love heart sweet on her desk (He had made sure they weren't the romantic ones!)_

 _'_ _You're beautiful'_

 _'_ _you're funny'_

 _Anne had eaten the first three no problems, then came their detention together where Gilbert left two on the desk._

 _'_ _Forgive me' and 'You're Sweet'_

 _When she had walked in the room and saw the sweets, not even with a flinch, she picked them up and crushed them into the floor._

 _Not unlike Gilbert's heart._

His lips unturned his face softened, he missed her, maybe they could start over and be friends again, let her know it was him without letting onto Gardner it was him and maybe a necklace would help her remember her parents necklace and finally maybe, they could at least start talking again!

He went into the shop and bought the item, then decided to make this pack a little bit more personal.

Maybe then, they could open a dialogue.

* * *

"Oh Roy!" Marilla exclaimed upon opening her present from him, "I can't take this, its too expensive!" she exclaimed.

"No not at all Miss Cuthbert," he protested with a smile to her "Consider it a thank you for inviting me to your home so often, you're guest room I must admit is the prettiest and more charming guest room I've stayed in and of course that's not to mention all that you do for Anne." He said with a smile putting his arm around her. Roy didn't hear the small 'hpfm' coming from Davy where Anne gave him a warning look.

"well, that's very kind." Marilla said with her best smile. "The little box there Anne that's for you." Marilla said.

"Oh?" Anne asked surprised, "but I've had all my presents?" she questioned as it was passed to her.

"its not from us Anne, we found it on the porch this morning when we went for wood." Marilla told her.

Anne looked at the wrapped gift perplexed "Is this from you?" she asked Roy.

"No sweetheart, I would have no need to leave it outside would I?" he said just as perplexed as she was. "Is there a note?" he asked.

"No, nothing." Anne admitted then opened the package.

The first thing to hand was the small box which she opened with a gasp. There in front of her was an enamel heart in a plush pink and a little chain.

"sweethearts?" Roy asked at the other item in the package "Who would send you a juvenile candy for Christmas?"

Anne looked at the items with tears in her eyes her lips in a sweet smile. She looked up briefly the only other person in the room without a perplexed look on their faces was Davy whose face had soften at the change in Anne's face. They nodded silently, only they understood.

Gilbert.

That was all she could think of. It was him and she knew it.

* * *

When they returned to university Anne decided to try and approach him on their next meeting although she knew he had a busy schedule she did see him at the Freudian Social, they had seen each other across the room she had smiled at him and he shyly at her, but it was only a few seconds before a rather angry looking Christine caught them mid gaze and pulled Gilbert off to some unknown location for the rest of the night. So it was a dance two weeks later where Anne next saw him, Roy had gone to the bathroom to freshen up so when Anne saw him alone across the room she started towards him.

"Hello Anne." She heard from beside her a little dry and droll voice said. She looked to the owner to see Christine "It was Anne wasn't it?" she asked her.

"Yes." Anne said nervous all of a sudden. "How are you Christine?" she asked her.

"Oh very well thank you, but you know you can't help but be well around certain company." She said with a smooth laugh her hand going across her chest, "but then you'll remember won't you?" she said the sides of her lips upturning.

"Um..." Anne started.

"Oh don't get me wrong sweetie," she said condescendingly. "I am glad you told him no." She continued seeing Anne flinching her confidence draining "left him wide open for me." She said with a smile "well left you wide open for Royal too," she continued "and everyone knows you're with him for his money, lets admit it can't be for anything else..." she chuckled "but then you'll know Gilbert is a _real man_ , Roy is just pretending, _you_ should _know_ after all..."

Anne's cheeks coloured for two reason. She knew now, Christine must have done _it_ with Gilbert. The feeling felt like a knife in her gut and she had just turned it by talking about Roy "Don't talk about them that way!" Anne managed to whisper.

"Like what sweetie?" she asked.

"Like they are pets to be compared and trained."

Christine seemed to cackle "but they are Anne, can't you see how well I'm training Gilbert." She told Anne, it was in that second Gilbert looked to see them talking. He smiled and he started moving across the room "Am I making myself clear?" she asked Anne.

Anne couldn't breath, he was getting closer and would soon be here, she just needed his touch again and she would be fine, but instead, she knew she couldn't "Crystal." Anne said in reply and she turned and made a by-line for the door.

Gilbert stopped at Christine and asked her "What were you talking to Anne about?" he asked. "Is she okay?"

"Oh Anne?" Christine said sweetly "Girl talk you know, she was fine, she went to find Roy."

* * *

It was that night Roy had suggested something quite sensible in her opinion. He took sex off the cards, but instead a sleepover. Just them in the bed together, no sex, just sleeping. In the moment it certainly had put Anne at ease, but as she lay there, four in the morning, not a wink of sleep balancing on the edge of the kingsized bed just to be sure he wasn't going to come near here, she was starting to suspect it was a bad idea.

She sighed sadly, is this what it would be like to share a bed with him? Laying awake every night wondering if he'd pounce. Which was ridiculous he could hardly pounce when he was snoring heavily in the bed beside her, snoring was definitely asleep.

She was also annoyed to no end. Her mind kept going back to Gilbert. Gilbert let out tiny puffs of air which were sweet and quiet, Roy was like a locomotive! There was no way she could sleep next to him like this where she had fallen asleep willingly in Gilbert's arms the night she had failed to get Averil published.

 _This wasn't fair._


	33. AOTI Chapter 14

DISCLAIMER: Just a trigger warning here. There is a discussion with **sexual abuse** themes. Folks, although this a fictional situation, there is nothing fictional nor imaginary about it.

Please please, if you find the discussion rings true to you, regardless of gender or sexual orientation please please (I can't say it enough PLEASE!) sought the help you need! It is **heart-breaking** and can be a **burden** for you and its **heavy** and its **too heavy for anyone to carry alone**. Find someone you can talk to, someone you trust, and talk then find the help you need, all emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually (and I'm not necessarily talking about religious leaders, I'm talking about your soul)

I've added some numbers at teh bottom of the chapter.

So now I've dealed with the serious stuff, I am so very nervous about this chapter, it was the hardest to write and has been through several edits (Thanks **CatieGirl** ) and written long before the subject hit the news. I can't tell you how it felt to write it, and I know I've given huge spoilers here so...

* * *

Gilbert has the buzz, the buzz he often felt right after rock-climbing like he did now. He'd just completed a steep rock climb, He and Christine had came back on the evening plane, he had dropped Christine at her place, he was still high from the adrenaline so was walking home, he was going to sit and veg probably fall asleep in the middle of some old film, sounded like a good evening to him. He had seen Charlie on the way back and was walking with him, at least as far as the library, then it was less then a two minute walk to his student flat.

"…and then Josie actually knew, which really caught the fellow off guard, I'm not sure what he expected." Charlie finished telling Gilbert.

"She was never all prettiness, though she did pretend it for a while in high school, she seemed to really get her act together in senior year, you had a good influence on her."

"Oh thanks." Charlie said his chest puffing with pride before they both looked up rather startled at Anne coming towards them. She noticed them too late for them not to see he eyes were red and puffy from crying, her white porcelain skin red round the cheeks, her head went down as she passed them. Gilbert tried to ignore the urge to run after her to see what was wrong, even after all this time, he still felt so drawn to her. "You should go after her." Charlie told his friend.

"That's where you're wrong." Gilbert said his head shaking.

"Gil its been over two years…" Charlie started.

"I know how long its been Charles!" he said annoyed at him.

Charlie was silent for a moment before he said quietly "did she really mean so little to you?" he asked.

Gilbert looked at him astounded. "So little?!" Gilbert repeated. "Little!" he said again. "She was my world!"

"Your world?" Charlie said with a nod. "It looks like your world is coming crashing down."

"No it did two years ago when she said she could never love me!" Gilbert objected.

"Are you telling me you're still in love with her?" Charlie asked. "What about Christine?" he asked Gilbert. Gilbert looked to Charlie confused before Charlie continued "The women you've not spent any time with for two years?" he asked.

"Don't you think I've regretted it?" Gilbert asked Charlie, "What I would do, what I would give to have her friendship again? I have tried to reach out you know!"

"You know what you will regret?" Charlie said in response. "Not going after her now."

"I'll regret it if I do." Gilbert said worried of his own feelings.

Charlie shrugged "Which will you regret more?" he asked him. Gilbert gulped and looked at his feet. "Go." Charlie said.

Gilbert didn't know what made him listen to Charlie but he did and soon caught up with Anne. "Anne?" he asked her. "Anne?" he tried again and took her gently by the arm. "Are you okay?" he asked her.

"I don't feel like a catch up now Gilbert." She almost whispered her eyes still down on the floor.

"Its not a catch up I'm after, you look upset." He said to her trying to gain eye contact "Charlie… well and me too, we were wondering if you're okay?" he continued.

"I'm fine, please let me go." She said to him.

"Anne." He said again. "Please look at me?" he asked of her finally stilling her.

"Gilbert please don't." She whispered.

"Look at me." He said talking his finger under her little pointed chin her eyes finally meeting his. "Don't lie." He whispered. "We promised we were still going to be friends remember?" he asked her.

"What two years is 'space' enough?" she asked him accusingly. He wasn't sure why, she had never contacted him and he had come home to see she was in a relationship with someone else, he _couldn't_ approach her.

"Neither one of us knew what was coming round the corner." Gilbert said to her without malice.

Anne felt like glaring on the inside. "What _was I_ meant to do sit and pine?" she asked him.

"Anne." He said softly to her. "I'm not here to argue." He told her honestly.

She looked around and said to him "I don't want to talk about it here." She told him.

"Come with me." He said. "We're right by my flat." He whispered. "I can order in a pizza, pepperoni? Come on please? Prove to me you're okay?." He said.

She smiled slightly "my favourite." She whispered.

"See." He said with a playful smile. "Come on, you can tell me what's wrong, we can eat pizza and we can watch Indiana Jones and we can point out all the continuity errors and plot holes." He said with a grin to her to which she gave out a little chuckle.

"Okay." She agreed.

* * *

They were back in his room before he talked again put his laptop on. "it shouldn't take long." He said to her at a lost at what else to say.

She nodded and looked around not surprised by his room "Just as I imagined it." She said looking at the pictures hanging from multi picture frame, before she came to a gap in the pictures where she knew their picture had once been. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise "except..." she trailed and looked at him for a moment. "has that been gone since...?" She asked him.

"Yeah." He said.

"you should replace the picture." She said in an almost whisper.

"No one could replace you." He said in a murmured response.

She took a deep sigh and sat on the edge of the bed her head still down quietly.

He couldn't help himself from sitting beside her. "Sorry." He said to her.

Anne shook her head taking deep breaths. "No." she said. "No, that's…" she trailed and in her tears managed to cry out "really sweet!"

Gilbert looked at her wide-eyed unbelieving of the girl sat beside him was really Anne. She might as well have been the girl who wore her hair was back in two bunches and dead straight, glasses and old faded t-shirts of vintage bands t-shirts, the Anne who had become more confident and sure of herself had faded. He wanted to put his arm around her and hold her tight tell her that everything would be fine, but his heart still cautioned him not to let himself get too close, even if she was sobbing beside him. She sobbed for a little while longer before she started wiping her tears away. It was then he noticed she was shaking so he went to his cupboard and pulled out his old Leatherman's jacket from high school and again put it round her shoulders.

"Gil don't-" she started.

"You're shaking." He told her firmly. "Come now," he said gently "You always suited this jacket more than I did anyway." He told her with a smile.

She sighed heavily and managed a "Thanks." She pulled at the ties in her hair letting her hair cascade down naturally. Before she said "D-do…" She stuttered then shook her head. "Never mind." She whispered. "Its nothing."

"Its something." He said to her. "If its making you this upset then its something."

She took another deep breath before she talked again. "If we had got together" she whispered "All that time ago, If we had got together…" she stopped and shook her head.

"What?" he asked very concerned now.

"Would we have had sex by now?" she blurted.

Gilbert looked at her surprised by the question, of all the things he had expected that wasn't it. "Oh," he managed to sound. "Well…" He started "I guess, when we were both ready, there's no guarantee it would have been by now, exactly…" he stuttered out his heart racing in a way he knew he didn't like.

"So there's not a time limit on the amount of time it take for me to be ready." She stated, although he wondered at it not being a question it was definitely posed as a statement.

"No of course not." Gilbert said looking at her now. "Anne…" he trailed as she burst into tears again, this time he couldn't stand it, he wrapped an arm around her as she turned slightly hugging into his chest as she sobbed there where it clicked for Gilbert. "Is Roy…" he trailed for a second knowing it was none of his business, he shouldn't be asking.

Anne pulled back and took off her glasses before she tossed them aside wiping her eyes with her hand before she spoke "We keep on breaking up over it." She said quietly. "He thinks…" she sighed and pulled away from Gilbert by shuffling along the side of the bed "thought I guess…3 months was long enough, then we broke up got back together less than a forty eight later he came back asking for my forgiveness, but it wasn't another two weeks before he started to put the pressure on again, I stayed with him until it got too much and I'd break it off, on off, on off…" She sighed. "Today, was just…" she sighed and started crying again "…just that again."

Gilbert looked at her again and took a breath to try and calm his anger "He shouldn't pressure you Anne." He managed in fragments.

She shook her head. "I know he..." she sighed heavily "releases those frustrations." She told him. "he comes back when..."

"he _cheats_ on _you_!" Gilbert said wide eyed.

"Its not cheating, I'm not letting him have sex with me..." she tried to justify

"Its cheating. He knows you remain faithful and he gets... That's cheating."

"he could stay away if he wants."

"why bother when your girlfriend lets you play the field?!" Gilbert leapt to his feet "He has the stability in you and the top up confidence of being able to pull any girl he wants whenever he wants."

She took a breath and said quietly "But I don't feel ready for sex yet! What else am I meant to do?"

"Expect loyalty from your boyfriend!" Gilbert argued.

"It's my body, I have a say!" she argued.

"Yes." He whispered. "Its your body, and your _right_ Anne."

"I'm not ready for sex yet!" she argued back.

"Then he should wait!" Gilbert finally yelled the desperation obvious in his voice to anyone who heard it. "He should prove his loyalty, his desire for you his absolute need to be with you! He should be waiting on the side-line for all eternity if that what it took to be with you!"

She stopped looking at him in disbelief shook her head. "I don't understand." She whimpered breaking into tears again.

"Understand?" he asked her.

"Why do I make men into monsters?" Anne asked him.

"Monsters?" he asked her his hands on his hips "I'm afraid you've lost me."

She took a few deep breaths in before she spoke again.

"I was thirteen, and I needed, or wanted just to be loved." She whispered. "You know just, a mom and a dad, that's it and I was sooo desperate for it." She bit into her lip and sighed. "I was so ready to please them, you know, I'd do anything for just 'normal'." She sighed a little and looked at him. "So when he started to buy me stuff, latest fashions I didn't question it, I didn't think on it." She continued "until one day I was washing the dishes, and I…" she swallowed and looked down "…I felt his hand on my backside, _feeling_ me…" She didn't see but that was the moment he looked at her, if she had looked she would have seen not just the initial shock and horror on her face but also a huge amount of compassion on his face. "…He told me not to tell anyone and I would be rewarded and I was." She sighed, "Music and clothes…" she trailed "but soon it was more… he'd wait until his wife was out or asleep and get into bed with me and feel my breasts, what little there was but he'd be right behind me, I was trapped." She let out a huge sob before she told him "He said it was my fault, for luring him away and if any man told me he loved me, that this was all he was after." She stood up next to Gilbert and whispered "You don't need to hear this." she said and she turned towards the door before he gently took her by the hand then wrapped himself around her hugging her softly. At first Anne was shocked by his reaction, but soon let out a huge sob and found a familiar spot where she could sob into him. "I was so scared as he got closer and closer to my knickers…and when he went under them, I don't know what damage he did! I don't know what I am Gil…I don't know if he took my virginity or not? I blacked out, or I can't bring it to my memory, He was so close behind me and I _felt_ him, what am I? I don't know what I am Gil and it scares me that I don't know part of myself and what am I ever meant to say to boyfriends..." she trailed again sobbing more into his chest for a few minutes. Before he heard her whisper "I should have told you." And burst into tears again, he pulled her closer then holding her trying to convay his reassurance to her.. His fingers stroking her red hair his lips kissing her there. His own body in shock of what she had gone through "…and I went to the school councillor and they took me away, I didn't go back again and I hated myself for messing it up.." she whispered. "and… and if _I_ hadn't been that way… its _all_ my fault, Gil, I never meant to turn him into someone bad, I never meant for him to love me like that, I can't let _anyone_ love me like that, I turn good men _bad_ , I can't do it to Roy, I like him too much for that, he doesn't deserve it but then I'm depriving him of intimacy that he deserves, but _I can't_!" she sobbed like she never had before into Gilbert.

Gilbert was fuming! Not at Anne. Never at Anne! Not even at Roy, the fella was probably confused and frustrated, though he should never force . At _him_!

"I should have told you, I should have said, I didn't know how, I didn't know what was happening I was just a kid!" she cried into him "I didn't mean to!" She exclaimed.

Gilbert let her cry more into him for a while, he didn't know how long before her tears started to subside he pulled her back and looked down at her "Anne." He whispered looking at her he wiped the tears on her face away. "It wasn't you who did it." He whispered to her trying his best to hold back he tears which were gathering in his eyes. "Don't you dare, _ever_ blame yourself." He said pulling her to sit with him on the bed. He put his arm around her holding it to him. "You _did not_ make him a bad man, he was _already_ a bad man." He told her holding her as close as he could as the tears slipped down his face.

"Really?" she asked a tear stained Gilbert.

"A real man does not force, he never belittles or makes another person believe their behaviour is anyone's fault but their own. He does not make a girl or a women do anything against her will."

Anne looked at him wide eyed. "Really?" she asked him again seeing the tears slip down his face she in turn wiped them from him.

"Really." He confirmed.

"But, I'm doing it to Roy." She whispered.

"Has he forced…" he trailed.

"No. Well not exactly, I mean we haven't yet..." Anne protested, she trailed sitting back on the bed her legs out straight. He likewise moved back next to her putting his arm around her back. "but that's exactly what's happening, he says he loves me and if he does…"

Gilbert looked wide eyed to her.

 _"_ _Please don't change! Please please…"_

She had almost begged him that night not to change. She had been trying to stop him from turning into a monster.

More tears slipped from him. "Anne." He whispered. "Love doesn't force." He told her. "That's not what love is." He took a breath before he continued "What happened to you was not an act of love…"

"But its what you do when..." she started.

"Sex is an expression." He told her. "Just like when we're angry there are ways of channelling that, of expressing it." He cleared his throat and looked at her "Let me ask you something, one person is angry and breaks a slate over a boys head, another person is angry because someone refuses to be his friend despite him apologising for it on multilabel occasions, they repress it until it gets too much and they burst at the other person, who is more angry?"

Anne looked at him for a second. "neither. Its just two different ways of expressing the same emotion."

"Right its not the emotion itself, right?" he confirmed

"Well, no otherwise everyone's reaction to everything would be the same."

"What if…" he started "What if you loved someone and you couldn't tell them, and you were frustrated and maybe you need to, I don't know, you need to go to the gym more or you need to go on random dangerous adventures just to vent some of it…" he said. "Is that an expression of an emotion?" he asked her.

"Yes." She confirmed.

"Which one?" he asked.

"Frustration I guess, but frustration because of love."

He nodded. "Right. It's a negative expression of what should be a positive emotion."

"Okay?" she wondered outloud.

"Sex is an expression, an extreme one, but an expression all the same. Because of the emotions felt and the physical act its an expression which requires absolute trust, the level of intimacy is so intense." He took a breath, "When it's taken by force the person forcing it violates that intimacy and it leaves emotional and obviously sometimes physical scarring. You never ever violate it. It's the ultimate betrayal of love and trust." He told her. "What he did was not an expression of love because love does not behave like that. Love waits. What he expressed was evil, it was the exact opposite of love and he violated that intimacy and that trust, _he_ was the bad person Anne, not _you_." He told her. "Look at who you are, look at who you've become despite him. You amaze me Anne Shirley." He whispered squeezing her slightly "You have been handed one of the worlds most awful histories..." he told her "but your heart is the purest thing in the known universe. You've not let what you went through sour your soul..." he said and looked her in the eyes "...do you know how rare a gift that is?"

"you're being kind." She whispered.

"No I'm not." he said looking at her

"I had it all planned out in my head." She said putting her head on his shoulder. "How I was going to fall in love, with who, what he would be like. I made this impossible man, or at least I thought he was impossible, and to be fair, it was Roy." She said with an ironic chuckle. "But I'd also be able to control the situation, the feelings he had, I would be a perfect little girlfriend and he'd just stand by the wayside waiting…" she sighed. "I'm stupid." She said shaking her head.

"No you're not," Gilbert told her "of course you thought you could control it." He whispered as he started to realise just how much of _this_ history had affected _them_. "You are an amazing women Anne, and I stand, or rather sit in awe of you." He told her plain. She looked at him then sighed, she crashed into him with so much force he went sideways lying on the bed. She quickly apologised but found a sweet relief when he again so carefully brought her down in front of him, she was facing him, her head under his head, arms wrapped round her cuddling her in close. Anne relaxed there her mind breathing in a scent she thought she would never smell again. The fresh clean linen of his shirt and the smell of apple trees and bonfires. She sighed letting the cuddle continue. It had been too long since they had hugged, she didn't know a lot right then, but she knew one thing, she needed to stay as close as possible to Gilbert Blythe.

He took a sigh before he returned to the topic at hand. "In light of what you've just told me..." he said looking at her seriously for a moment after a lengthy but comfortable silence between them "I can't believe any man would try and make you go faster then you feel..." he looked at her his eyes wide he almost gasped "...he doesn't know?" Gilbert asked her. To which she shook her head. "oh Anne!" he exclaimed.

"I can't tell him!" she protested. "I can't he'll see me as dirty and used..."

"No one would think _that_ Anne." He said shaking his head " _no_ , no way."

"Roy once saw some high school students making out a little and I mean less than we did, he called the girl a 'brazen hussy'." Anne said to him "I can't tell him this!"

"I think your Mr perfect is a little hypocritical there if you ask me." Gilbert said honestly his true self coming out.

"He's not my Mr Perfect Gilbert."

"Then, what is he?"

Anne shook her head "He's my..." she was wracking her brain for the right word 'Mr Alright for now' seemed a bit harsh.

"He can't ask for perfect history off you if he's just going to ask you to do _that_!" he exclaimed. He took a sigh as she pulled away and sat up beside him again he brought himself up equal to her, "It must be difficult to not know who you are though, if you aren't even sure if you are or not." He said with a heavy sigh.

"They checked me for STD's and STI's but they said they had no way of checking if I was a virgin as the hymen could have broken anyway."

"That's true actually." Gilbert said nodding his head. "Sorry not helping." He said suddenly aware of what he was doing. "I'm sorry." He said outright "it wouldn't matter to me." He said.

She looked up to him as he shrugged "come on Gil yes it would."

"If you're virginity was taken by force then it's a horrible ordeal for you to go through, I _would_ care that it hurt you, I _would_ care what you had been through, but it wouldn't bother me that you weren't a virgin."

"Really?" Anne asked him looking up at him, her grey eyes looking wide at him.

"Yes." He whispered. "or actually if you weren't a virgin by choice either." He shrugged "just wouldn't occur to me."

He took her in his arms again and they hugged sitting up on the bed for a few minutes before Gilbert pulled away. "Feel free to ignore my advice, but…" Gilbert trailed before he bit his lip down "you really should consider telling Roy this." Gilbert told her.

"I know I should." She said with a sigh. "Problem is…" She continued "I don't know if I can trust him with this." She said quietly.

He took a deep breath. "I can't solve that for you Anne." He said honestly "but, you really need to figure out what you can share with him." He sighed and kissed into her hair subconsciously. "So…" he whispered. "Just think about what we've talked about Anne." He said gently.

She looked at him "Who explained it to you?" Anne asked him "You know the expressions stuff?" she asked him.

He smiled gently "My ma." He said proudly. "She said she was raising a gentleman." He said to Anne.

She smiled still with the tears in her eyes "That she did." Anne agreed. "She explained it really well." She whispered.

"Yeah she did." Gilbert agreed.

"It sounds like her." She said softly "I miss your mam."

"yeah?" Gilbert asked her.

"yeah, I like her she reminds me of you." She said gently. "So for you it was no sex before…." She trailed.

"Love, Trust, consent." He admitted.

"Wow." She said quietly, wondering when and how Christine had achieved such a status with him.

"Yeah." He acknowledged.

"That's quite a list." She said wiping her tears away.

"It's an essential list." He said firmly. "I always wanted that expression of love expressed for all the right reasons." He admitted. "I can't and won't speak for Roy but, I'm sure he just wants to express his feelings for you." He sighed "however misguided or not." He said carefully. He looked to her again then they brought themselves into a hug again. They sat quietly for a few minutes in the hug remaining close to each other, Anne feeling the safety of his arms around her.

"Do you really want that frivolous night I offered?" he asked her not really expecting a yes.

She looked at him and smiled for a moment before she suddenly proclaimed "You know what? Sure, yes!" he looked at her a wide grin appeared on his face as he sprung off the bed to get to his laptop

"Really? Awesome!" he told her.

* * *

When the pizza came Gilbert jumped up and buzzed the door opening his flat door for the pizza guy to find him. His phone had fallen out of his pocket and Anne held it in her hand.

"Oh cool!" Anne said looking at it. "New phone?" she asked him.

"Um, yeah." Gilbert confirmed "my little myphone 4's operating system gave up the ghost, literally I couldn't turn it on one day. So I upgraded, I had my regular income from my jobs, I saw no reason why not." He said with a smile.

She swiped the screen to see a generic screen saver come up with the time, she shook her head and accidently clicked on the emergency contacts. "Oh Gil!" she reprimanded him as in times of old "You have to set up your emergency contacts!" she told him. "What if you lost your phone and someone wanted to return it, or what if you were lying in a ditch…"

"With my phone in my pocket?" he grinned.

"What's your passcode?" She asked him "I'll do it for you." She said.

He went pale for a moment before he said "two six six three.*"

"Don't worry I won't look at any of your messages or internet history if that's what you're worried about." She said with an eye roll. He breathed a sigh of relief.

He made that his lock code a long time ago and had never changed it, it didn't _have_ to mean what it did he had justified at the time. She obviously didn't clock on as she typed it in. "I'm not worried about that." He said rolling his eyes. "I don't do porn and there's no messages on there you can't read." He said.

She highly doubted the second. Surely any messages from his girlfriend he'd want to keep secret. She went into his contacts "I'm putting your parent's house number as number one." She told him. "Is that okay?" she asked.

"Seems appropriate." He nodded.

She nodded. "Number two your mother's mobile and number three your dad's?" she asked him.

"sure." He said then turned to the pizza guy "Hey Henry!" He said with a smile.

She took a sigh, surely, he would ask for her to be added to his emergency contacts, right? "Is there anyone else you want for number four?" she asked him.

"Thanks man." Gilbert said with a smile then shut the door. "Sorry?" he asked her.

"Is there anyone you want as emergency contact number four?" she asked him again.

"Oh… ummm…" he started and he was clearly thinking about it. "There's no one my parents wouldn't contact anyway." He said. "Just leave it at them." He said.

'Oh?' Anne wondered. ''No one his parents wouldn't contact anyway.' Of course!' Anne thought shaking her own head. 'How silly, of course his parents were in contact with her separately, Mrs Blythe probably loved her future daughter in law.

"Your dinner milady." He said with a grin.

She took a slice and said to him "Oh how did your MCAT go? Are you officially pre-med?" she asked him.

"I am!" he said with a smile getting a slice himself. "I did alright..." he said with a blush.

"That means you aced it!" she said with a smile. "Come on top... what ten percent?" she asked him.

His cheeks pinked "Top five." He said with a smile, to which she squealed for him.

"I knew it! I knew you would." She told him.

"You remembered?" he asked her, he looked up and into her eyes.

"Course, I did," she told him "it was important to you so it was important to me." She told him. They took a bite out of their pizzas and then she said "You know I thought of you, the days I knew you'd be sitting them, I actually saw this med book which I thought about getting for you as a 'congratulations you did it present' but then I remembered we..." she blushed and took another slice of her pizza.

"I don't think I want to specialise in surgery now." He told her.

"Oh?" She asked surprised. "Now that does surprise me, why the change of mind?"

"When I was working in the hospital over the summer I was working in the lab and it was on the same floor as a children's ward. One very boring day we were working on something when a little kid had escaped the ward, she... well..." he blushed and looked away shyly "I took her back to the ward and I talked to her and she said if I had been her doctor she wouldn't of minded coming to hospital so much." He swallowed silently "I don't know, Christine said I was being sentimental that I should stick to my original plan of surgery, I know all the information I know the expectations, but..."

"Your heart tells you not surgery?" Anne asked.

"Yeah, I think maybe family medicine, I've not decided." He shrugged.

"Do you need to?" she asked him.

"No, not until my third year." He admitted.

"Well then just keep an open mind." She suggested "if you don't have to decide..." she said.

"An open mind." Gilbert said with a smile. "Now, I like that." He said with a look to her, "I saw the Averil advert, Anne I'm so sorry." He told her.

She shrugged and shook her head. "It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does." He reassured her "I actually got in my car when I saw it and I drove over and I sat outside for a ridiculous amount of time."

She looked up and smiled "I saw you!" she said. "I mean I saw the car." She looked at her lap and said "I really wanted you there."

"Come on, did Roy not reassure you?" he asked.

"He told me it was silly to cry over a 'fictional character'." She said with a blush.

Gilbert shook his head "No its not, she's your baby." He decided it was probably best to leave it at that "I would have loved someone to study it all with." He told her.

"Did Christine not help?" she asked him.

"She's not really into the medical school stuff." He paused for a moment and thought "or study stuff, altogether."

"Oh?" Anne said surprised. She couldn't imagine Gilbert being with someone who wasn't into studying and working, how on earth was he coping in _that_ relationship?! "Oh, Um, thank you for the necklace." She said with a smile. "It was really sweet of you."

He smiled and nodded "It just reminded me of you." He said with a chuckle. He looked up at her "speaking of necklaces, where's the one with your mom and dad's rings on it?" he asked her.

"Oh, erm..." she blushed and said quietly "Roy thought it was depressing, he said it was like I was carrying their hearse around with me." She looked down at her food before she said "so I stopped wearing it, its in my underwear draw with yo... I mean just with some personal stuff from the past in there." She told him.

Gilbert looked at her seriously for a moment before he said "They are part of you." He said carefully "that's what made it beautiful." She blushed slightly and again he asked her something she'd rather he didn't. "There was another difference when I came home to your appearance which I was surprised by as well," he said to her "You cut bangs into your hair." He stated. "But you grew them out again."

Anne sighed shaking her head "You are going to think Roy was an awful boyfriend. It wasn't his fault really" She said quietly "and he wasn't, or isn't a bad boyfriend _really_ , I'm not sure how permanent this is." She admitted.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this?" Gilbert said eyeing her suspiciously.

"You see, the topic of me not liking my hair colour came up and he asked if I'd ever considered dying my hair..." Gilbert's head snapped up looking wide eyed at Anne "and he was suggesting some specialists who could 'make the red hair more subdued..." she continued to turn red "well of course I couldn't afford such a high price..."

"Oh no..." he said quietly.

"So I went home with a home dye kit and tried to dye it..."

"What?!" Gilbert exclaimed his face in horror.

"Well luckily I read the instructions to do a strand test first which I did... but it didn't turn black..." she said

."Black?" he questioned the inflection in his voice almost mourning the loss of red hair.

"It turned green." She told him.

Gilbert's jaw dropped. "Anne!?" He exclaimed. "What happened?!" he asked shocked.

"well the test area was right round the front and when Roy found out he insisted on taking me to a hair salon and getting it fixed... well they said they would have to cut in bangs and then because it was naturally so wavy they suggested the chemical straightening to go with my hair and Roy agreed to it."

"Did you?" Gilbert asked her wide eyed.

"I wasn't really in the position to argue." She said quietly then looked up at Gilbert "and you know its always been a sore topic, red hair boarder line curly..." she blushed.

He looked at her sadly for a moment and told her gently "but its part of you."

She shrugged "Its not very attractive." She said quietly.

"please don't do that." He said quietly but firmly. She swallowed and then bit into her pizza again they said "but the bangs were too much maintenance and the chemical straightening only lasted six months so its going back to normal now, as you see..."

His lips upturned and he said quietly "Good," he said with a nod. "I always preferred it natural." He reminded her.

"I know," she nodded with a small smile on her face. "I think what little self esteem I have about it was from..." she looked at him and drew a small smile "Gil, I wish..." she started, but the words didn't seem to come.

"I know." He said with a nod reaching over to her knee and touching her there, she looked at him and moved directly next to him his arm going around her, her hand going to his knee.

* * *

Anne got woken up by her phone ringing waking her. She cracked open her eye to find a tousled haired Gilbert head just above hers. She looked around confused for a moment before it registered what had happened.

The two had sat lazily on Gilbert's bed, talked through the first two films before they had talked nothing but sleepy talk to each other through the third each finding a comfortable lull in each others arms, by the time they made it to the last film they had fallen asleep part way through. Gilbert had been half crouched up, Anne had been snugged into the crook of his shoulder near his heart. She reached into her jeans pocket and answered it "Hello?" she said croaking slightly. "Roy!" she acknowledged suddenly pulling herself away from the now sleepy but waking Gilbert who had equally pulled away from her. "No, no I'm not there." She told him as she tapped her wrist and mouthed "time" to Gilbert. He got his phone and showed her the time 9:15. Anne rolled her eyes "I had a class." She lied spontaneously and cringed at what she was doing. "No its not a regular one, it's a special one for my French Literature course." She paused for a moment "No it was really early, I'm just going to get breakfast now at home." She said taking her legs over the side of the bed "oh of course, yeah." She nodded. "Oh I'm about two minutes away from the library. So I should be back at Patty's place in about 15 minutes." She stopped and listened to him "Of course." Again she paused "Um huh, yeah sure. 30 minutes, no breakfast sounds wonderful." She whispered "Okay bye." She hung up the phone and sat as if in shock for a moment. "Um." She started and looked at him.

"He'll never hear it from me." Gilbert said quietly. " _Any_ of it." He told her.

"I know." She acknowledged. "You know everything about me, you've never betrayed anything I told you, not once." She sighed standing from the bed. "I'm pretty sure Matthew knew and Marilla knows it was on my adoption papers and I know Miss Stacy knew but, I've never told anyone it." She said quietly.

"Not even Diana?" Gilbert asked her.

"She wouldn't understand." Anne said quietly.

Gilbert swallowed standing up although Anne couldn't help but notice how adorable his curls were when completely untamed upon waking. "Anne if you ever need to talk about it more, if you ever need me, I'll be here." He told her.

She looked at him and wrapped her arms around him "My best friend." She whispered to him. "You'll never change, will you? You'll always be the sweetest man alive." She said before she pulled away and stroked his cheek for a moment before she pulled her hand away "I better go." She whispered.

She started to take off the letterman's jacket to which he objected "No Anne," he said with a chuckle "that jacket belongs to you." He told her.

"Thank you." She whispered kissing him on the cheek before she left. She quickly ran down the steps of the dorms building and pushed the door open to outside. It was only there she stopped to take breath. She had attempted to stay over at Roy's on a few occasions which either ended in her slapping him away or else he would be fast asleep and she's be perched uncomfortably on the edge of the bed not getting any sleep (and Roy had never stayed in Pattys Place). That had been the strangest sensation, once everything had hit her at the morning light. She had slept so comfortably in Gilbert's strong arms his strong masculine smell had been the first scent she had smelled this morning. She couldn't believe it! Gil knew everything! Everything! He had been perfect to her about it, he believed the things which he said, she had no doubt about them and she had slept so comfortably so close to him.

* * *

The next day when Roy presented himself at the door of Pattys Place that Anne stood in shock at his appearance.

"Roy?!" She exclaimed looking at him, "What happened to your eye?" She asked him.

"Oh, yes." He said shading pink a while. "Strangest thing in the world, some bloke with a Star Wars hoodie came up and gave me this on my run this morning."

Anne looked amazed at him. "Did you get a look at the guy?" she asked him as she closed the door behind her swinging her backpack onto her back.

"No, the hoodie was right up over his head, though he was at least five inches taller than me." Roy said.

"A Star Wars hoodie?" She teased "Being beat up by the geeks now."

He stood his ground firmly "I'm not weak!" he defended.

"I know you aren't, Roy I was kidding." She said with a sympathetic smile to him.

"Sorry." He said quietly "I'm all riled up from this." He said.

"Understandably." Anne said as they arrived at his car.

Roy exclaimed "I can't believe this!"

Anne's hand went over her mouth. "Is this new?" she asked him as a scratch as long as the car was grooved into the side of the car.

"Yes, I only just came up here, The boy must still be around," he said looking up and down the street "I can't believe this, this is the third thing to happen this morning!" He exclaimed before he started walking but Anne stopped him with her hand.

"Third thing?" She asked him.

"Yes, very junior high, when I got back to my locker at the swimming pool someone had managed to get a fish in there, yes a fish, stunk out the locker and my clothes and left a note saying 'never use force' whatever the hell that meant."

Roy was too busy looking up and down the street to notice the look of recognition on Anne's face as she quickly looked down the street to the secret hiding places she knew she spotted him, not even far from them, He grinned at her and winked and shrugged as he stood there in his Star Wars hoodie his curls loose over his face as if he hadn't brushed them.

Anne's lips played with a smile before she distracted Roy by putting her arms around him and looking up at him.

"I'll find him!" Roy exclaimed.

"Its only a scratch." She said looking at him "and the perpetrator will be miles away by now, you know how they run and hide, there's no real damage done we'll take it to the dealers this morning if you like and get it rubbed out." She calmed him. "And you know the old saying about these things happening…" she brought her head over his shoulder and looked directly at Gilbert his hazel eyes playing with hers "…in threes." She said to Gilbert rather then Roy.

Gilbert's smile widened at her looking at him and smiling at him too. Her mouth wording 'Thank you'.

Gilbert nodded in acknowledgement of Anne's thank you and her wordless warning to him that three things were quite enough. She watched as her knight in Star Wars armour walked down the street in the opposite direction to which she and Roy were going and she suddenly felt the safest she had since she was actually in his arms the previous night, Anne pulled back and said to Roy "Come on lets go." She said with a soft smile to him. They got in the car and Roy looked to her "You have that necklace back on." He said looking at her again. "Let me buy you something pretty for your neck Anne?" he asked her.

"All you'll buy is something too expensive and a waste of money." She said with a grin playing with the chain "and anyway its part of me." She said with a slight grin to her face.

* * *

 **Now you see why I'm** ** _begging_** **those who have been affected by it to** ** _please_** **sought the help you need.** ** _Its too much_** **and you do NOT need to do it alone** ** _._**

 **So, from the moment I knew I was going past the Anne of Green Gables point, I knew this would happen. This was on the cards so I was able to write in her reactions to reflect her situation.**

 **Think back to her over reaction to him pulling her hair, how she was so unforgiving.**

 **Think back to her reaction when Prissy was being groomed (because lets face it that's what it was) by Mr Phillips.**

 **Think back to her trying to fool herself into thinking that Gilbert "didn't think of her like that"**

 **Think of her not seeing Gilbert as a boyfriend and her reaction to that kiss.**

 **Think of her not being able to just leave Roy. Because she was in a relationship, trying to make it work because she wanted to prove she could be in a relationship but unable to share this with him for fear of judgement.**

 **I think had Anne and Gilbert have talked a couple of weeks after they kissed Anne would have told him then. I think Gilbert moving away really hurt her because given those extra little time she could tell him and he would have been ready for her there and then (even though he says later he might not have been, he would, because Gilbert has been a little knight in shining armour) and she has needed him. She loves him and its coming...**

 **Its been a hard plot to write because it is so real and it happens and I wanted it to be real I wanted it to be understood...**

 **Abuse is never okay.**

 **Its never EVER your fault. No matter what the circumstances, no matter your age, the way you dress, your gender or sexual orientation, it is not okay and if you find it in your circumstances, GET OUT. Take yourself and anyone else vulnerable to the person and LEAVE and find help, because you will need it. It does not make you weak.**

 **There are a number of organisations worldwide which can get you set in the right direction. The biggest worldwide is (called here in the UK) childline, or internationally child helpline network.**

 **UK childline 0800 1111**

 **USA child abuse helpline 1.**

 **Canada Kids Help Phone 1-800-668-6868**

 **Australia kids helpline 1800 55 1800**

 **Haiti Jurimedia (509) 34 44 18 39**

 **There are numerous other helpline worldwide if you go to www. childhelplineinternational. org (without the spaces, fanfiction doesn't let you put in outside links on their pages for obvious reasons) there is a list of every child line (or the equivalent) on there.**

 **As for us adults there are a number of national charities and councillors which are there to help.**

 **Love to you all**

 **Carrots x**


	34. AOTI Chapter 15

**I'm a couple of hours early in uploading today.**

 **Firstly can I say a huge thank you to you all for the responses from last weeks chapter. It was hard to write and even harder to publish because you never know people's reactions. its a hard and serious topic so thanks guys.**

 **And the story continues...**

* * *

Anne had carefully picked out the dress she would wear. The dress itself was a little light green mint colour it was strapless with a sweetheart neck line. It was covered in a Bird Embroidered mess which came above her knee. She stood in her bedroom looking herself in the mirror, it was a bodycon dress a one she noticed Roy noticing on other girls, frequently. Her hair was down her back she had let it wave down her back the waves in loose spirals down her back The only thing in her hair was a thin green hairband. She put on her shrug which was likewise a light green mint one which matched the dress she opened a small box which lay on top of her dresser. She gazed at it a moment before she decided to put the item round her neck, a small heart shaped pendent which Gilbert had sent her. That's when there was a knock on her door.

"Come in." Anne called and in came Phil, she stood her mouth a jar for a moment and said to her "why Anne!" she exclaimed. "nine nights out of ten we look equally as beautiful then that one time you'll outshine me by far." She sighed "And today is one of them." She whispered.

"thank you." Anne said with a smile. "What's that you got?" Anne asked her of the big box that she carried.

"More flowers." Phil stated.

"Looks a bit fancy for Blake's tastes." Anne observed with a laugh.

"They aren't for me they're for you queen Anne." Phil told her, she said sitting on her bed and looking on her bedside table "Oh, I haven't seen this picture of you and Gilbert for years!" Phil exclaimed with a chuckle to it. "Its a good job you don't bring Roy up here he'd wonder why." She said with a saucy smile.

"I only just put it there from it being in the draw." Anne admitted quietly.

"Are you talking to Gilbert again?" she asked.

"Of sorts." She replied quietly with a soft smile. Anne looked at the box curiously "Roy already sent me flowers .I wonder what these are?" She said the orchid's sitting downstairs.

"Well I didn't send them!" Phil proclaimed popping them on the bed. "So come on open them!" she exclaimed. Anne opened the box to find the most beautiful bunch of lily of the valleys. "Anne!" Phil gasped.

Anne's mouth dropped opened in amazement.

 _'_ _"Well in order to greet the future I'll buy you a bouquet of your favourite flowers for graduation."_

 _She looked at his quizzically "You know my favourite flowers?" she asked him._

 _"I do that." He admitted. "Lily of the Valleys."_

 _She looked surprised at him before she said "well yes they are, but how do you know that?"_

 _He grinned and pressed his forefinger to his nose a couple of times "A man must have his secrets."_

 _She laughed for a moment before she said "You promise flowers?" she asked him._

 _"Upon my honour." He said taking hold of her hand.' She remembered._

 **He had kept his promise**.

"There's no card!" Phil proclaimed. "Ummm, someone wants to be anonymous." Phil sad deflated and defeated.

"Yeah." Anne said her heartstrings pulling at her as she looked at them. She picked a few out and decided to make a flower crown for her head.

* * *

What do you think you are doing?!" Roy had exclaimed to her. "Wearing a dress like that!" he exclaimed.

"What?" She questioned. Anne had become more and more defiant as late. Roy couldn't work out where it had came from. She had never been like this before, the first time he noticed was right after the last time they had been on a break. She had admitted him back in her life but she was different. A glint of mischief was in her eyes since his day of three's, the day his car had been scratched and he had received that black eye, she was no longer agreeable one hundred percent of the time, she had started to wear her hair in waves and she had rid her glasses! This, this was just the latest in a series of tight fitted clothes she had worn, They weren't the clothes he would choose for her, shouldn't he get a say? And now, her defiant words hit a nerve he did not like "so you can turn and watch women walk by with dresses like this on but your own girlfriend can't wear it?" she asked him.

"I'm taking you home to change." He said to her grabbing her by the arm.

"I will not!" Anne proclaimed pulling away. "Stop trying to control me!" she said to him.

Gilbert hadn't intentionally overheard them, he wasn't miles away but he wasn't close either. Gilbert quickly moved away not wanting to hear anything else. Personally, he thought she looked _beautiful_. The green was just the right colour which brought the green out in her eyes and the tints of titian in her hair literally shone, and her hair was free and _waving_ down her back. He knew at least half the dance floor would only have eyes for her, though perhaps this was Roy's problem, he seemed to have a myriad of double standards too. The dress was a style the old Anne would have chosen. She had personalised it further with the little chain of flowers in her hairband the flowers he recognised as being his own. He wondered at her wearing his flowers, had Roy not bought her any? Gilbert watched as the debate between the two increased and only ended when Roy turned and walked out the room.

Gilbert watched as she stood alone on the other side of the dancefloor, her eyes diverted to the floor. He could see the confidence drain from her, her bottom lip quivering, he couldn't help but make his way through the crowds. "May I have the honour of this dance Miss Shirley?" he asked her as his hand went out to her. Her head shook but he persisted "Come on…" he whispered to her before the next song started. His mouth turned into a grin as the start of I want to break free by Queen, started up. "Oh now, this is destiny!" he exclaimed. "Come on, come on!" he bated her.

Anne laughed as his hips started to pop side to side to the time of the music still holding her hands he leaned in and out of the position then came to a halt when the lyrics started and he mouthed along "I want to break free…" before his hips started popping to the rhythm of the music again she watched in amazement as he 'danced' along like this until like in the video he stopped put his hands on his side and still mouthing along mouthed "You're so satisfied I don't need you" then a fake flick of the hair made Anne laugh. He held Anne out at arm length and looked at her up and down. Anne smiled and took the shrug off to dance with him to which Gilbert looked her in the eye and mouthed "Wow!". Anne, looked at him and her heart melted for him and she had to admit she was impressed as the song continued Gilbert copied the moves freakishly accurately, but it made her laugh like she hadn't… since they stopped hanging out. When the guitar riff solo started Gilbert took her hand and twirled her in front of him his hands and arms over hers they air guitar the riff together for a few bars Anne laughing in his arms. When the riff ended, he twirled her out of his arms the brought her back in holding her gently round her waist with one arm then held the other one out beside them rocking them back and forward on the spot for the rest of the singing break then as the lyrics started he leaned her back in a cross body then brought her up. Taking her again by the hand and round her waist and walked them the length of the room, before shaking his head side to side making her laugh again as they swapped hands and moved back across the room. They laughed as they swayed on the dancefloor for the rest of the song. He held her close and whispered to her as he did in the old times to which she replied, for a little while they were just them again.

Then a slow song started, the kind which lovers danced together.

"I can let go if you want?" he asked her.

"Can we stay like this a little longer Gil." She whispered.

He nodded and swallowed before he spoke "when I went to New York, I did something so stupid Anne. I was running away from feelings which needed addressing and I pushed you away" he took a pause and looked into her eyes "It been hell, Anne and I put myself through it. I put myself through by not being there. I might as well make a full confession of it..." he told her gently. "...I've been so very sorry." He said the words she had said to him long ago reflected back at her.

She smiled at him softly at him then immediately wrapped her arms around his shoulders "I've missed you Gil."

He sighed and wrapped his arms round her tiny waist a sigh of relief left him as he admitted "I've missed you too Anne." He let her cuddle in and said to her "I know things can't be the same between us as they were but..."

"but we're kindred." She whispered.

"that night a few weeks ago made me realise I should have stayed in your life and you in mine." He said to her.

"Because we're kindred." She confirmed.

"because we're kindred." He said to her.

Anne's hand came up to his chest the other remained grasped in his elbow bent up. His arm around her holding her at the bottom of her back and the other holding her hand.

She realises as she stayed in his arms the attack which was simulating every single of her senses.

His gentle but strong and reassuring touch.

The sound of his heart beating in his chest.

The way he looked at her, after all this time, after all she _knew_ it never changed.

The morning she had woken in his arms it had been the first smell she had that day and she had longed for it ever since, the smell of cider wood and apples.

The taste buds in her mouth activated craving the taste they had once shared.

She knew she should pull back, for Roy's sake but she relaxed into his arms only their legs moving, she knew she was in the safest place in the world.

He took a breath as the song came an end he pulled back and looked into those grey orbs he swallowed before he spoke "I never could stand to see you sad." He pulled back and looked at the small pink love heart pendent around her neck laying in the hallow of her perfect frame. He smiled at it as her hand held over it for a moment. He took her other hand and brought the back of her hand to his lips and his kissed her hand gently. "Always a pleasure Miss Shirley." He whispered to her before he turned and walked out of the hall. Anne stood dumbly for a moment trying to gather what was left of her thoughts. She turned to the door which Gilbert had just left out of to see Roy coming in the door. Anne blushed at his gaze uncomfortably. She went to the chair her shrug has been carelessly tossed to and put it back on before she went to Roy.

"I over reacted." He said gently to her. "You look lovely."

Anne took a deep breath her memory bringing back a sweet mouthed 'Wow!' of Gilbert Blythe and she smiled as she should at Roy. "If it means that much to you, let's just go." She said her heart galloped in the best of ways.

He smiled in way of thank you, then took her by the hand. "Come with me."

* * *

Anne had no idea where they were going until they got there. She looked confused for a moment before she looked at him. "This is…" she started.

"Where we first met, yes, sweetheart." He told her in no uncertain terms. "and I wanted to bring you back here." He took a breath "I believe destiny brought us here." He told her "I want you to know how happy you make me." Anne looked to him in amazement. "The world is so uncertain…" he trailed as Anne started to realise what it was he was doing.

"Roy wait…" she protested.

"No, I can't." he told her taking her by her hands "Anne, marry me?" he asked her pulling a huge diamond ring from his pocket holding it in front of her.

"You can't want to marry me Roy." She said to him.

"I do." He argued back.

"Roy, we are constantly at each other's throats." She started.

"Because we're so passionate."

"We're on again off again, it's hardly the bases of a stable relationship."

"We keep coming back to each other, that is stable. This will fix that!"

"A marriage isn't a fix to a problem in a relationship." Anne told him.

"why don't you want to marry me?!" he demanded.

"Because!" she finally burst "I don't love you!"

She blinked in shock at herself. It was one thing to not say 'I love you' but it was another to admit to not loving him.

"What?!" he asked shocked.

"I'm sorry." She said to him. "But, that's what's stopping us from moving forward, isn't it?" she asked him. "I can't get intimate with you because love has to come first, real love really real love."

"I do love you." He whispered.

"No." she whispered back to him. "You love who you think you know and Roy I mean this in all the right ways but you don't know me well enough to love me, not the me who you'd be marrying." She stepped back and looked at him.

"So that it?" he asked her. "This is the end?"

"Yeah." Anne breathed." "it is." She said feeling a burden being lifted. She looked to him "We can't stay in a relationship which is lacking trust and commitment." She whispered to him.

"This is my commitment!" he emphasised.

"I know it is Roy." She said softly "Please understand, this is not all on you."

He looked at her and whispered "please Anne, you _must_!"

* * *

Gilbert entered the cloakroom and saw Philippa there getting her coat.

"Phil." He said with a smile. "How are you tonight?" he said to her.

"Oh very well Gil, we've missed you at Patty's place." She said to him. "You know I'm engaged to a minister called Jonas now?"

"Well congratulations!" Gilbert exclaimed. "I didn't know, I'm quite ashamed to say I didn't keep up with you after…" he trailed "I hope I'm forgiven?" he asked her.

"Oh of course you are, life is too short." She said with a smile to him.

"Thank you." Gilbert smiled. "Jonas is a lucky man."

"That's where your wrong mate, tonight is the night for most couples don't you know?" two men interrupted in the middle of their own conversation as they entered the cloak room ignoring the two other occupants.

"Why would you tie yourself down on graduation night?" The other asked his friend.

"Tina and Josh, Max and Emma, Roy and Anne." With the last names mentioned Gilbert looked up in shock. Phil thought Gilbert had stopped breathing he stood so still. "Oh, here they are." The one said to the other. He pulled at the jackets and the two other men walked out the room.

Phil looked at Gilbert and tapped him on the shoulder. "Gil?" he asked and Gilbert snapped out of the trance. "I'm so sorry." Phil said to him. "I thought you knew." she said to Gilbert to which he received a silent reply and a face which was ever draining of the colour which was in it. "You're still in love with her." She looked at Gilbert as she recognised the dreadful look in his eyes "My god, you're still in love. But what about..." she started before he interrupted

Gilbert took a breath then shook his head "I just need to shake off the old cobwebs." He said then looking at Phil his head held high "You know I fancy some rock climbing this weekend." He said stiffly. "I'll sweat it off, shake her off, once and for all."

* * *

She looked to him and sighed her hand went to his face gently holding him she kissed him fondly "I wish I could make that burden easier Roy, I really do." She told him. "but I really really can't." She told him with a heavy sigh. "But can't you see by not choosing someone from your world your deliberately not choosing someone who would know what expected..."

"I can't marry someone... " he trailed then looked at her softly "...I don't love." He stood and looked at Anne again "which would be precisely what I'm asking of you."

She looked to him and said "you still have time Roy."

"Is there someone else?" He asked her directly.

"The last time we broke up I bumped into him, and there are things you don't know and he does..." She looked to him nervously.

He looked to her sadly and said "I can't deny there are things about you Anne, I don't understand." He told her taking her by the hand "Do you want to be with this man?" he asked her directly.

She was shocked by the question but answered it all the same "Yes." She whispered. "but I waited too long, he's with someone else now." She said.

Roy wrapped his arm around her "He's an idiot then." He told her straight. "We could um, stay together if you like, make him wild with jealousy?" he asked her.

Anne chuckled then looked to the serious face in front of her. "Gosh, I keep forgetting you don't kid round." She said to him. "No, its better to live true to yourself then live a lie, and I think that's what I've been doing. I can't be truthful to you if I'm not to myself, yet another reason why we..."

He swallowed and said "Maybe if I'd been faithful you might have been able to tell me the truth." He said. "I am sorry Anne, but I wish you well."

"You too." She said smiling at him gently "and tell me when you find true love." She stood up and left the gazebo and as she walked away she was sure she knew herself all over again.

* * *

It was later that night he got a whatsapp message from her.

 _Anne: Gil, can we meet up?_

He stared blankly at the five words she'd written feeling completely numb he didn't know how long he sat there looking at the words, it could have been five minutes or five hours. He eventually looked away from it and sighed, closing it without writing back. He **had** to start shutting her out of his life.

 ** _Forever this time._**


	35. AOTI Chapter 16

"How's your packing Queen Anne?" Phil asked coming in her little blue bedroom she almost jumped at her progress. "Good heavens Anne! She exclaimed, "Do you want to be away from Kingsport?"

"It's not that exactly." Anne smiled. "I've been packing for a few days, only leaving out the essentials, today has been pretty easy going." She laughed "its it funny how much we accumulate over the year." She sighed. "Never mind Phil, how is your packing going?"

"Terribly!" She claimed lying lazily on Anne's bed "and look its quarter past four, at this rate I'll be done this time… next century!"

* * *

A good hike on his own, he looked up at the rocks in front of him.

He's forgotten his ropes but he was determined and he was not backing out. His adrenalin was already up from the hike and he promised himself, when he got to the top of this rock climb he would be over her. That's right over the top would mean over her. He'd done the climb a thousand times and never had any problems with it.

He glanced at his watch 16:15 before he clicked it for the stop watch to time himself.

His heart thumping, he reached for the first rock.

One step at a time he elevated above the ground, he used his fingers and pushed up on his arms using them to help him over the trickier section. He looked down when he passed it and smiled at the climb.

'I'm going to make it!' he thought to himself climbing. "Three more and I'm at the ledge…" he thought to himself. "Two more and I can be over Anne." He told himself. "One more and she can be happy with Royal Gardner…" he thought with one last heave reached up….

* * *

"Anne!" Phil called. "We're ordering in a Pizza!" she called.

"Are you trying to make me put on weight!" Anne laughed coming down the stairs.

"You look like you need to after all the work you've put in!" Phil laughed.

Anne nodded in acknowledgement though said nothing, she felt as though the last time she had properly ate had been with Gilbert. She'd waited on him replying to her though the reply never came. She wanted to tell him she was finally free! That she didn't have to tell Roy, that she knew why she didn't have to tell Roy.

But he'd never got back to her.

She sighed as she reached the bottom of the stairs, it had been too long since she hung out with Gilbert and that night where she told him everything had been a wonderful remedy for a while but she really did just want to hang out with him.

"So I thought one of those Skinny Pizzas. No Gluten, no diary no salt…" Phil started to suggest.

Anne laughed "You've just taken all the good bits out of the pizza." Anne mocked.

"well I have to still fit in my wedding dress in three weeks." Phil objected.

"I don't." Anne objected. "You get your skinny pizza which isn't a pizza, get me a regular real pizza." She looked over to see Phil's face drop at her laptop screen. "what are they just as much in fat content?" Anne asked her at her face. When her face didn't change Anne looked more seriously "Are they sold out?" she asked.

"I…um… just… are you following Gilbert on Facebook?" Phil asked her.

"No," Anne said honestly "why?" she asked.

Phil turned her laptop and saw on Phil's newsfeed a message with Gilbert's name tagged in from Gil's dad.

'Gilbert is in intensive care after being airlifted to Kingsport Hospital a couple of hours ago. He's not awake so If you can't contact him that's why, we'll keep you informed. I'm in Kingsport now on route to the hospital now.'

The colour drained from Anne's face and a dread started to fill her from her gut outwards. She tried to speak but the words wouldn't come. She tried to think and the processes wouldn't start. She tried to look away from the screen but she couldn't look away. When her thought processes did restart she read it again because the words wouldn't register. She shook her head "intensive care?" Anne stuttered as she looked at Phil. "Not awake?!" she said. "What happened?!" she exclaimed.

"I know as much as you do." Phil stated as she watched Anne leave the room. "Anne?" she questioned getting to her own feet and followed her fumbling up the stairs to her room. "What are you doing?" she asked her as she arrived at Anne's door. Anne had already grabbed Gilbert's jacket and put it on.

"I need my keys and my phone." Anne said trying to concentrate. "Okay phone." She said picking it up and putting it in her pocket. "Keys keys…" Anne said.

"What are you doing Anne?" Phil said trying to get her to focus.

"I have to go!" Anne sobbed freezing where she was on her room. "I… I _have_ to be with him!" she told Phil.

"Anne you can't just go down there, they don't let just anyone into intensive care." Phil told her logically.

"You don't understand!" Anne yelled in her sobbing and she gasped for air.

Phil looked at her friend who she really believed she was on the edge of a breakdown and at her face understood her frantic nature at this moment. She went to Anne and wrapped her arms around her friend for a few moments before pulling away. Anne looked to her with a nod then saw her keys grabbed them and went out the door.

* * *

"Um, I'm here to see Gilbert Blythe." Anne said to the nurse at the station. "He's in intensive care." She said quietly.

"Are you family?" The nurse asked her.

"Um…" Anne started the words escaped her "I…"

"If you aren't family I can't let you in."

"I just need to know if he's okay?" she only half asked.

"Miss…"

"but he's in intensive care so that's bad right?" Anne asked. "You don't call it intensive for nothing." She continued blindly, the nurse looked to her "I mean is it, bad short term or long term, is he going to die? Please I just…"

"I can't…"

"You don't get it!" Anne continued "please, _please_?" she asked her feeling as though her gut was being slowly peeled from her. "I need to know if he'll be okay?"

"Miss I can't give you that information if you're not family." The nurse continued.

"But I'm _his_ Anne!" She protested "I belong…." She stuttered. "…we're… please…" she tried.

"Anne?" The familiar voice of Mr Blythe came from behind her.

Anne's face came to some relief upon seeing his father, she wiped the tears from her eyes before she acknowledged. "Mr Blythe" Anne looked to him wide eyed the tears still glistening on her cheeks. "I just, is he alright?" Anne asked meekly.

"Why don't you come in with me Anne?" he asked her.

"Oh no I can't do that, Its only family and…"

"Gilbert would want you there." Mr Blythe objected then he managed a kind smile at the girl who was distraught in front of her, whatever history the two had whatever had passed between them he wouldn't be the one standing in the way. "…and anyway you are family." He said.

"But Mrs Blythe…" Anne started.

"Is in the states with her cousin." Mr Blythe confirmed. "She tried to get the earliest flights but won't be here until morning." He told her putting his arm around her. She looked up in amazement at the man who gently led her through the corridor of the hospital. "The people who called him in weren't far from him when he fell, he went off hiking alone…"

"he didn't!" Anne said in shock. "You should never hike alone he knows that!"

"Not only that he decided to do some extreme rock climbing." John continued.

"I don't understand how do you extreme rock cl…" Anne started.

"Without the ropes." John said quietly and Anne's eyes went wide. "Very stupid of him. They saw him climbing assumed he had gear but when they saw him fall they knew he didn't, they called it in. Kindly strangers," John nodded. "Found 'dad' on his 'emergency contacts' on his phone." John told Anne.

"Thank providence." Anne whispered. "I put those on for him."

Mr Blythe smiled "That doesn't surprise me." He said gently. "So you and Gilbert have been talking lately?" Mr Blythe asked her.

"Um… well sort of…" she admitted.

They came to the window of the private room they had Gilbert in and Anne gasped at the sight. "He broke his right arm and fractured two of his ribs in the fall, as well as all the bruising." John swallowed. "He hasn't woken they say its because of the head injuries, they're not sure how long it'll take for him to wake."

Anne remained silent looking in the window and where she was hearing everything John was saying it wasn't where her focus was.

"They say talking to him will help him, but I can't think of anything to say. I reckon it'll do him some good to hear your voice Anne." John admitted. "Won't you go in and visit with him?" he asked.

Anne nodded and entered the room, she didn't notice that John left her at the door closing it behind her he decided they needed a few minutes. He wasn't sure what it was which made him do it, but there was something in Anne's eyes, which told him, it was needed.

* * *

Anne walked towards him slowly and stopped at his bedside. She looked at the injuries which had abraded his face. As she reached for the rebellious strands of hair, if she had been paying attention to herself, she would have seen her hands shaking as she reached. As she stroked it back she let out a whimper then a soft cry her other hand clasping to her face covering her quivering mouth as tears slipped down her face. The hand which fingers which had smoothed back the hand now ran gently down the bruise on his face. "I'm sorry." She cried talking to him. "I'm not sure why your dad thought this was a good idea." She admitted her fingers now reaching his strong jawline. "Yet, here I am." She told him. "He said people talking to you helps somehow and how ironic is it that the things I want to say I can't!" she exclaimed. The sobs clear now as she continued to try and control the growing feeling inside of her. "I feel, so helpless Gil." She told him. "There's this feeling right here." She told him holding her stomach for a moment before she continued "and it's a feeling which for the life of me I couldn't figure out, for a long time." She sobbed "Which is ironic because when I first felt it…" she took his hand and her sobs turned into silent cries "…was when I lost you almost two and a half years ago. When you told me…"

At this her legs gave way to the chair sitting behind her. Her head came down her hand still in his but her head on top of their hands. "You're the only one who could stop me…" she cried. Her head came up both her hands clasped in his one hand she brought the back of his hand up and kissed it her lips could taste the slight saltiness of his skin, she could taste a little what she had on his lips that day. She took a sigh and looked up the bed at him her hands rubbing his. "…you're the only one who could stop me from plunging into the depths of my darkest feelings." She continued. "And this…" she whispered. "This is the darkest one." She sighed. "everyone used to tell me when I walked into a room I would light it up, you did too a few times." She told him. "But see over the years, I suppose, I became dependent on…" she paused for a moment before she whispered "…you." She said to him. "I might light up the room but you kept that light burning." She faulted for a moment. "When I spent the night, you recharged me, when you danced with me at convocation, it did the same thing." She said nodding her head still crying. "Because you want to know the truth?" she asked him. "My world would be engulfed in a pity of darkness and misery and endless woe…" she told him. "Without you in it." She squealed breaking again.

She sobbed there for a few minutes trying to regain her breath, her thoughts anything she could cling onto, then she took a few steady breaths holding onto a single thought in her mind before stood again leaned over him on of her hands letting go of his hand to play with his curls again she brought her face to his and she kissed his cheek fervently. "I love you Gil." She whispered to him. When she received no response she almost laughed "did you not hear me?" she asked him. "I love you." She told him again. "I'm not sure how I've been so wrong for so long!" she sobbed and kissed him again. "Please…" she told him. "Just live." She whispered. "I don't expect anything from you." She told him. "I know I don't deserve it after all I've done." She continued. "But…" she said holding back a sob, "If I had my way…" she said. "Can you imagine with me for a minute Gil?" she said playing with his curls. "We'll have a house, a home really where you come home, I've been writing, of course…" she said with a laugh "and this is what… lets see you have medical school still so that's four years and five six years… how long is medical school again? You'd know, I bet you've been planning it as long as you've known you wanted to be a doctor, oh no we won't wait that long for kids…" she said with a chuckle. "We're going to be living paycheck to paycheck for a while but that's okay, I can take care of them…" she bit her bottom lip "but you know…" she continued, "just having you would be enough, so even if you've done yourself some damage which can't be fixed. I'll take care of you. If you can't walk or talk or take care of yourself." The tears starting falling from her eyes again. "I'll do it. I won't leave you this time, I won't abandon you. Because its what you deserve, it's the kind of love you deserve. I want to give you the love you deserve…" she took a deep breath "I don't even know if that's possible!" she cried "But I want to spend my life trying to." She told him. "Even if you don't remember, We can fall in love all over again. I won't leave you ever again. " She whispered. "Or even if you don't want me anymore, that's okay too." She told him. "but if you die…" she cried. "I die." She told him. "So you can't bail on me okay Blythe?" she told him. "Because I love you."

It was then the door opened and in slid Jonas Blake.

"Jo?" she said surprised. "How did you…?" she started.

"Minster of religion." He said with a smile. "He may not be one of my flock but I think I can safely say you are Anne, and he's of the same religious background isn't he?"

"Yes." Anne said quietly.

"May I?" he asked pointing towards the chair. To which Anne nodded. "I hope you don't think I'm intruding, but Phil was concerned about you, she knew you would find your way in, asked if I could come and be with you." He smiled.

"That's really sweet." Anne said with a grin.

Jonas looked to Gilbert then to Anne and perceived her broken heart. "So I've heard an awful lot about Gilbert of course off Phil, I can't say I heard much from you." Jonas started.

"No, well you only came on the scene after Gilbert went to study at NYU and then by the time he came back I was already with Roy and from what I understand its bad form to talk about another man when you're with someone."

Jonas smiled at that "Quite right good form." He smiled. "What is he like?"

"Gilbert?" Anne asked. "I barely know myself any…" she shook her head "no that's not true, there are some things that will never change about him." She said looking at him softly.

"Oh?" Jonas said thoughtfully. "Like?"

"He's…" she paused for a moment and smiled "kind, unbelievably kind, like to mammoth proportions kind, and patient and…" she paused "actually there's a passage of scripture I found one day when I was pressing a flower he gave me, I read it long ago, it was about charity and how it suffered long and was kind, it didn't envy and wasn't proud…"

Jonas smiled "Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."

Anne smiled "That's it, I thought it then, I still think it, it describes him." She smiled.

Jonas nodded his head. "Did you ever look up the verses again?" he asked her.

Anne shook her head and shrugged "I can't say I did."

"The word charity is a slight inaccuracy of the root word, well its root word, our one word used to be described as four separate words. See the Greeks had four different words describing four different aspects of our one. Philia, a friend bond, that feeling you have when your friendship is strong and durable. The second storge the empathic bond you share with family a sort of dependency, eros, well I can leave it to your imagination what that means, and the fourth agape, unconditional-"

"love." Anne said looking to him her mouth ajar slightly. "They are all different aspects of love."

"One of the aspects of love many people struggle with is the very one you described. The unconditional sort of love, parents more often than not have it for their children, but showing it towards other people…"

"No, Gilbert was…" Anne started and stopped suddenly blushing "Gilbert's never have any trouble in showing it towards people, as I said I thought the passage was him." She said softly looking back towards Gilbert, "he's the epitome of love." She said even softer.

"Of just the last one Anne?" he asked her. She looked up surprised "You'd been with Roy what a couple of years? I've never heard you talk of him like you just did of Gilbert."

Anne took a sigh, "I suppose there was always aspects of all of them, I mean it makes sense in a way, we were always the very best of friends always had a bond closer then most people could explain and I…" she blushed a little.

"It's okay Anne, the number of times you catch me and Phil in embrace you ought to be used to it." He said with a smile. "What stopped you?" he asked her.

She took a deep sigh "there were things at the time he didn't know about me and I was afraid to tell him, after we had got so close, I was afraid of losing what we had, and the sad thing was he was right, we were basically in the best relationship ever just without the label of 'love' attached to it." She looked up at Jonas and continued "I didn't have the best examples of what love did so I didn't recognise it as love and when he told me he loved me I thought it was something it wasn't. He said he needed time, that we would be friends again when he came back but then life got in the way, I was with Roy, he was with Christine…." She took a deep breath. "where is she?!" Anne asked him exasperated.

"Who?" Jonas asked.

"Christine, where is she?!" Anne said more annoyed "I mean she's meant to be his girlfriend! So where is she?!"

Jonas smiled "Anne focus. Christine couldn't come in here if she tried without Mr Blythe's consent, do you know if The Blythe's are close to Christine?" he said with a smile.

"I don't but, I'm sure the Blythe's love her."

Jonas looked seriously at her "come now Anne what evidence do you have of that?" he asked her "What matters, is that you are here, and I've barely spent ten minutes with you and I know you love him." He told her.

"Yeah, I do!" she said nodding her head.

Mr Blythe came into the room. Anne jumped up out of her seat.

"No Anne," John objected. "You stay there sweetheart." He told her straight. He looked to her for a moment before he spoke. "I understand you two had a bit of a falling out a couple of years back?" he said to her.

Anne looked at him a flinched. "I…. Um…." She blushed.

"He never said." John continued. "But he really missed you."

"He didn't say that." Anne almost whispered.

"No, he didn't." John admitted. "But I knew it." He said sitting down. "We've missed you."

"Thanks." Anne whispered. "I've missed you, him. I've missed…" she shook her head. "I'm sorry for intruding Mr Blythe." She said.

He shook his head "You aren't. To be honest they told me to talk to him, I had no idea what to say." He said with a chuckle "I thought sending you in here would help."

"Thanks." Anne said.

"Whatever went wrong you can fix it you know." John told her kindly. "Its never too late."

"You don't know, what I did to him." She said.

John sighed and looked at her "Maybe, but I know the effect it had on him. He missed you."

"I miss him." She responded.

"Then stay." John told her. "As long as you like." He said.

"I best be off." Jonas said to Anne and John. "I can tell Phil you're….?"

"I am well in body although _**considerably rumpled**_ up in _**spirit**_." Anne said with a smile to Jonas, to which he nodded, bid himself a service to Mr Blythe should be need it and left.

Anne wasn't sure but some she'd fallen asleep in that chair, her hand still on his she woke with a start to see Mr Blythe sitting over from her.

"How long was I asleep?" she asked him.

"Couple of hours. I think." He said honestly.

Anne sighed and looked at Gilbert then looked down again. "I'm sorry Mr Blythe." She said to him. "this was a really bad idea. I better go." She said starting to get up which was when Gilbert started stirring.

The oxygen mask still on him he muttered something as John pressed the button for the nurses attention.

Gilbert's eyes opened and his eyes came into focus on one thing. His eyes wide and alert he looked into Anne's eyes. Anne could swear he was smiling at her. He felt her hand in his and knew instinctively it was her left hand his eyes widen as he felt her fingers much to Anne's confusion he took a deep breath as he felt her fingers then squeezed her hand. The nurse came in and took off the mask.

"You'll notice a pain when you breathe on your own okay?" she asked him. He nodded and felt the pain quickly his hand holding tighter to Anne's. "can you tell me your name?" The nurse asked him.

"Gilbert Blythe." He confirmed.

"And how old are you Gilbert?" she asked him.

"Twenty Two." He gasped. "ouch!" he exclaimed. "Is this how it must be between us?" he joked to the nurse. She looked to Mr Blythe who was chuckling then to Anne who was smiling.

"That's him." John confirmed.

"I'm going to give you some of this, " she told him holding up some morphine.

"Wow!" he said with a grin "the good stuff eh?" he joked.

The nurse smiled "You're a joker Mr Blythe."

"He's meant to be going off to medical school in September, he wants to be a doctor."

"Really?" The nurse said with a smile, "well lets see if we can make that happen." She told him "it'll take away the pain but you'll be sleepy. "

"okay just don't make me dopey okay…" he joked then said to Anne "dopey, like dope like drugs." He chuckled to which Anne laughed.

The drugs were taking effect immediately as he chuckled and said "I missed your laugh. "he admitted. "… yours is perfect." He said his eyelids were heavy but he didn't want to be away from this reality, this world which Anne was beside him again "like you." Clearly not thinking he carried on "but then that would be fitting," he said softly "Snow White had skin as white as snow." He sighed "like you, beautiful white snowy…" he murmured.

"then you would be prince charming." She said to him.

"No…" he sighed "it's my place to take care of you until a better man comes along." He shook his head "not dopey though, maybe doc."

"There are no better men, you are the best." She whispered. "but then have you have your own princess…" Anne said she didn't notice John look up in shock "…to love."

Gilbert shook his head the drugs clearly kicking in he drifted "there will never be anyone for me but you."

Before he could say more or her respond he slipped into a slumber.

Anne took a deep breath and looked at the nurse "does this mean he'll be okay?" she asked her. "I mean he's responding, he remembers me and he's him his age and…"

"I don't know." the nurse admitted. "he's not out of the woods yet, but this is a very good sign." She said with a smile to Anne "a reason to hope."

To which Anne nodded. She looked to their hands then slipped her hand away from his "I better go."

"Anne your really don't need to." He told her.

Anne smiled at Mr Blythe "there's hope." She said. "that's all I ever needed. Thank you Mr Blythe for letting me stay as long as you have." She said politely, she exited so fast she left the old Leatherman's Jacket on the seat she'd been sitting on.

* * *

"Gilbert! Oh Gilbert Blythe don't you ever do that to me again!" Mrs Blythe burst in less then four hours later.

He was more alert this time, he was sitting up and was eating the toast he was given for breakfast his orange juice almost went flying from his tray with the impact of his mother.

"what do you think you were doing!?" she exclaimed. "rock climbing without the ropes!" she exclaimed.

"it was never the rock _climbing_ without ropes which was the problem." He observed "more the impromptu abseiling. "

To which his father burst into laughter. "John! " she reprimanded her husband "this is no time for your jokes Gilbert Blythe." She told her son.

"Au contraire ma mére." Gilbert defended. "this is the exact time for my sense of humor." He said with a smile to her "they say laughter is the best medicine and I think nothing funnier then being brought down by my own folly." He told her.

"In my day they called that a tragedy." Mrs Blythe said trying to stay stern.

"I'll admit to it being my character flaw." He said softly thinking of Anne, she was his weakness. "I am thankful it wasn't quite a Shakespearian tragedy though," he said with a grin to his mother who simply rolled her eyes and hugged in to him. Gilbert hugged into her for a moment, but then his father watching saw him stare at the seat next to him ponderously. It was as if Gilbert half recognized the missing occupant and half wondered at its reality.

His mother pulled back and made some fuss. But in the quiet moments Gilbert would look back at that seat.

Maybe it had been a dream, it was all too good to be true, Anne being there, beside him, he was sure before he woke he could hear her telling him she loved him but that was even more distant then the memory slipping from him, he'd made a really bad joke about one of the seven dwarfs? Doc? Dopey? Calling her Snow White? He wished she had been right there holding his hand when he first woke but then again, one of the side effects to morphine could be hallucinations, but then, was that his high school letterman's jacket hanging from the back of her chair?


	36. AOTI Chapter 17

Greetings all!

So, this will probably be my last update until into the new year now.

So you know I am continuing the story only there will be some very obvious difference from here on. But also some similarities, its just modern day so some differences HAD to be made.

I want to thank you all for following and all the advice and PM's I've had through this. CatieGirl as always and Kim Blythe as always. Rebeccathehistorian I we've talked a little about his medical school set up, I have taken it all on board and we're at that point. It is a major part of the story even if it is running in the background so thank you so much for our talks, it IS being written in.

love

Carrots x

* * *

"I was wondering if you fancied a hike?" Gilbert asked her, he already kitted out in hiking boots and backpack, no doubt filled with items needed to walk. "I need a walking partner, especially with this…" he continued half waving his arm as much as he could "and since its hiking sometimes requires two hands I'll need a partner." He said with a smile.

"Yes, I'll come." Anne said with a smile, "give me five minutes to get everything together."

Gilbert had been friendly, far too friendly since he woke. He had come to Green Gables often, but still with little of the summer remaining now until he went to medical school, Anne suspected her time, her chances with Gilbert, of being with Gilbert had ran out. It wasn't anything she didn't deserve and it wasn't as though she resented his friendship being back in her life, she appreciated it, she had missed him far too much! But still the blossoms of friendship seemed pale and scentless compared to the rose of love. She packed her backpack and grabbed her fleece and walking shoes. She ran down the stairs and came back into the living room with a smile. "So where were you thinking?" she asked him.

"Hester's Hill." He said. "Just into the dip of the garden." He said as she tied her shoelaces. He was half expecting the lecture from Anne which his mother had given him that morning.

 _'_ _ **Gilbert Blythe, you can not be serious!' she had exclaimed. 'you can't go hiking in your state, and up Hester's hill? Are you trying to kill yourself again?!'**_

"Okay fine with me." Anne said grabbing a hair bobble and sweeping it all up. "Let's go."

Gilbert had loved this past summer, with the exception of the downer of the first week or so, he had spent a lot of time with Anne. He hadn't spent this long with Anne for over two years, since the disaster of their make out session. It had ruined everything, he had let it ruin everything, he never should have done what he did and then not contact her, its no wonder their relationship had been on hold for the past two years.

But since the beginning of the summer, since he had woken something had, something had changed. He had caught her a couple of times watching him blushing away when she was caught. She held his gazes longer, she found more reasons to touch his arm, his hand and when she did it lingered there a little longer then natural. These alone, would never have been enough to convince him of her feelings for him. No, he had been fooled by his own imaginations before. The clinch was the conversation he had on whatsapp with Phil a few days after he was discharged from the hospital.

 **Phil: Try again**

 **Gil: I'd love to know what you're going on about?**

 **Phil: With Anne.**

 **Gil: Phil, she has a boyfriend…. Excuse me a fiancé**

 **Phil: No, Sweetie, those boys knew Roy was going to ask Anne to marry him, what they didn't count on was her reply. Anne broke it off.**

There it had been. _Anne_ broke it off. He was willing to take it slowly this time, take time to get to know each other again and slowly he felt the bond they once shared returning. She was as lively and her debating skills were far more practised then his, making their discussions more fiery and passionate than ever.

And it made him feel alive again. The colours which had faded were returning the little fantasies he once had of what his future could look like started to haunt his dreams again, only this time it didn't taunt him, it was so warm and inviting there were those moments where he was waking he wished he could sleep again to be in her embrace.

But maybe, the blushes, the gazes the fire was there, maybe for a reason.

The girl who had her hand outstretched for him to grab hold of as she had tackled a particularly difficult terrain which needed both hands to climb up the jiggered earth, the girl who reached back for him and pulled him up onto the earth beside her. Her hand lingered in his for a moment as they stood close together. Their hands were down beside them and while holding her hand the back of his hand brushed against her exposed thigh (as she was wearing those beautiful short shorts again) before she blushed slightly and continued walking.

"Thank you by the way, for coming hiking with me." He said to her as she walked away.

"Oh, that's okay, you know I love to hike." She said.

"I know, its why I came to you but…" he trailed and shook his head. "everyone keeps on acting as though I'm an invalid." He sighed.

"But its your arm broken not your leg."

Gilbert smiled "Something only you seem to understand, my mother would dispute my ability to hike full stop." He took a breath and looked out over the valley. "All downhill from here." He said pointing down the path. "All the way to the garden?" he asked her.

"Absolutely." She agreed.

It didn't take long to get there. The dip in the hill was beautiful tucked away, hiding the garden from passing view resulting in a never changing garden. The picnic blanket spread on the ground they sat together sitting back looking at the view.

"You know I've seen some views, but this one, this is the one which always sticks in my mind." Gilbert said.

"It's beautiful." Anne agreed. "It's like a dream." She almost breathed.

"Did you ever bring Roy up here?" he asked her.

"No." she said her head shaking. "No, he…" she laughed bringing her legs up he head digging at her knees as she laughed "he was not a good hiker."

"Oh?" he asked. "I can't imagine you being with someone like that." Shaking his head.

Anne looked at him "No one said?" she asked him. "I thought you knew, we broke up."

"Oh?" he said acting surprised but thrilling to hear the revelation from the source.

"He…" she started one hand going down in the grass and picking it and playing with it for a moment before she said "…he proposed you know." She admitted. "At graduation." She chuckled. "Right after he came back from his little hissy fit about my dress."

Gilbert looked at her "You mean the dress you looked really _really_ **_hot_** in."

Anne chuckled and looked at him to find a pair of very intense very deep hazel eyes staring back at her. "I didn't…" she started.

"You did." He whispered. "You can't argue with me, hotness is a case of perspective and from my perspective…" he said with a grin and a twinkle in his eyes "you were smoking!"

She laughed then smiled before she looked back and said "I said no and ended it, I couldn't stay in a relationship where I couldn't tell him… everything…" she said looking to him meaningfully to which his lips upturned "…and anything. I had to constantly filter everything to be beautiful and meaningful and it was exhausting when I just wanted to be me and order in a pizza and just chill…" she laughed before she sat quietly and looked out over the view. "It's strange, isn't it? That I want, what we had, in our friendship came so naturally. It was almost like a relationship."

Gilbert looked to her shocked. It was the first time she had ever admitted the word 'relationship' with regards to them, and something deeper struck him, she thought she couldn't have it again with him. "What's stopping you from reviving us?" he asked her.

"Gil." She said looking at his seriously. "Come on!" she exclaimed. "You can't be serious?" she asked him.

"I can be." He said completely perplexed. "Tell me."

"Um your girlfriend?" She poked at him.

He physically burst out laughing. "My what?" he asked her.

"Christine." She said looking at him like he was crazy.

He looked back at her with equal complexity. "Christine…" he trailed "Christine Stuart, Christine?" he asked her.

To which she nodded. "You were always doing these daredevil things and she was always with you, I thought she got you into it and then there was pictures which all had you and her in…" she trailed "and then you're Facebook updated one day to say 'in a relationship' I didn't need it to be tagged to know it was…."

"A joke one of my buddies played on me?" he asked her.

She looked wide eyed at him then suddenly tears running down her face "Really?!" she asked.

"One of the lads got hold of my phone which I had taken the lock off, stupid me, and updated it, they knew I didn't use Facebook all that often, they must have seen like 50 notifications on there… it wasn't until a few days later I saw the notification had gone up by a hundred and I checked." He laughed "and took it back down again. You saw me take it down right?" he asked her.

She shook her head in shock. "No, I… I stopped following you. I didn't see any other posts, except the one Phil saw from your dad." She shook her head trying to stop the tears "I didn't think it was like you to share your relationship status. I mean you didn't even have on there you were single." She blushed.

"Well I guess…" he said with a grin "I just wanted the right girl to be on the other side of my relationship updates." He took a breath "and what's this nonsense anyway?" he asked her " _You_ were with Royal Gardner, the rich the man who could give you everything your imagination desired."

She sighed heavily and looked away "He couldn't." she admitted. "All the physical stuff, the fancy places and the gift and the flowers and the wine and chocolate." She looked sadly "but there was no emotional support, no psychological support, no one to talk me down." She said "That's why I couldn't tell him… well you know." She said quietly. There was a silence for a moment before she continued. "Maybe I just couldn't tell him because we didn't get to know the deepest parts of each other, and maybe I was partly to blame for that too."

"I'm sorry Anne but why were you with him?" he asked her. "You were too good for him." She sighed and looked at his eager face .

"how long have you been holding that one in?" she said with a smile.

He laughed. "I don't know." He said to her. "I think when I came back from New York I didn't like the guy, my dislike for him only increased when you said about him sleeping around."

She nodded her head then looked out again at the view "Roy wasn't all bad you know, he did have a sensitive side to him, he did eventually do the right thing, and I did _like_ him, its just I was good friends with him and the relationship just sort of happened, and I didn't want to loose him like I lost you, so I stayed, I kept going back just so I could prove I could make it work, so I could show myself..." she shook her head. "Stupid." She said.

"don't call yourself that, please don't." He said to her putting his hand over hers.

She took a breath, "You know Roy really did have it rough in one respect?" Anne added.

"Oh?" He said with a grin "do tell."

Anne took a deep breath "His father passed away a year before we met, left him a trust fund which would leave him in charge of the 'Gardner' enterprise once he turned 25, thus giving him plenty of time to get a degree, the only bit of money he saw was the money for his university degree, well a bit more too, which he had access to once he started attending university. If upon his father's death Roy wasn't 25, his mother would have control over the funds." Anne paused for a moment and said "Well, you see his mother wasn't fond of the way Roy was spending the inheritance he did have so she made a slight amendment to him actually getting the trust fund."

Gilbert looked at her intrigued but said nothing.

"Upon his 25th birthday, if Roy is not married he will inherit nothing and the money and estates of his father would remain in his mother's hands, upon her death would be equalised among the shareholders of the company, Roy would never get anything."

"What?!" Gilbert exclaimed "Are you serious?"

Anne nodded, "he told me when I rejected his marriage proposal." She admitted. "His mother made a stop at Patty's place one day, warning me off her son, telling me not to sleep with him. I can only imagine she was afraid that Roy would marry me and she would loose all control over his assets." Anne said logically. "She wants Roy to marry someone within his own social circle, I think hoping she might persuade his future wife to her cause." Anne sighed. "I might not agree with how he was spending his money, but he told me straight he would divide whatever is in his trust fund equally with his sisters."

Gilbert looked at her gobsmacked "Do you think he would?"

Anne nodded "He loves his sisters dearly and doesn't believe they should be left with nothing because they aren't sons. It might make Doll a little uncomfortable, she's only eighteen but he has a whole vision of what Gardner Enterprises would look like, I think it would work well." She said with a nod.

Gilbert looked out over the valley and his jaw set strong "well it does make his situation more pitiable..." he said resentfully.

Anne grinned as he smirked "sooo" she started "If you were never with Christine, has there ever been anyone?" she asked him.

"Only you." He whispered. He looked to her and grinned "I tried Tinder." He said with a laugh to her.

"No!?" Anne exclaimed. "You didn't?!"

"I did." He said between his laugh. "About a month into being in New York, I decided to get over you."

Anne shook her head. "And?" she asked him.

"I was useless with it." He laughed. "I kept on swiping 'no, no no…" he told her.

"Why?" she asked.

"They weren't my type." He said with a shrug.

"Your type being?" she asked.

He laughed pressed his lips together and nodded. "Look in the mirror." He said lightly then added "and definitely not on Tinder. I deleted my account in seven days."

She laughed "Now why would you do that?"

"Because there were no Anne Shirley's on Tinder." He said before they looked to each other and blushed.

"Thank heavens for that!" Anne added after the silence.

"Yeah." He agreed. "I don't suppose this soon after breaking it off with Roy you're dating again?"

"No. I'm not." She said quietly. "I guess we're both just dreaming of the perfect relationship then."

"Yeah." He agreed as they went silent. "Though my dream has stayed the same throughout." He admitted. "I seem not to be able to let it go, despite all the facts pointing towards it never coming true." His fingers slid between hers and stroked the back of it gently. He lay back on the ground as Anne relaxed back with him her eyes closing to see his dream "I dream of a home, with one of those proper fireplaces in it..." he started.

"Wood burning?" she asked him.

"Of course." He agreed. "My home, where I come home from working at the hospital with cats and dogs, a stone floor with old fashioned rugs on it. The floor echoing with memories of the footsteps of friends, of family- "he paused for a moment and slid his fingers into her while saying "-and you."

Anne gasped at the revelation her eyes flying open. His eyes opened dreamily and looked at her softly. "I told you something two years ago Anne, if I say it again…" he said picking her hand up and kissing the back of the palm "…will you react differently?"

She looked towards him her eyes wide and clear, letting go of her hand he rolled onto his side the side of his broken arm, it laying across him. His fingers played gently with her cheek for a moment before he rested his palm there, not breaking his eye contact with her. He could see the happiness spreading across her face in a confused bliss.

"How?!" she whispered to him.

"How?" he questioned her. "What do you mean how?!"

"After everything…" she said the tears gathering in her eyes. "Everything I put you through." She gasped. "The mud, and the hell I…"

"Now stop that." He whispered. "Don't you dare." He told her. "Don't put all that on yourself." He whispered. "I'll have you know I'm every bit to blame for the hell I put myself through."

"Gil…" she started.

"No think about it Anne. Everything was perfect between us, we were the best of friends, we were close, really really close. Intimate in a lot of ways in fact."

"I…"

"I pushed you. I pushed you to push me away, I gave you an unfair ultimatum, I never, should have put you in that position Anne."

She looked into his eyes. "I have missed you so much!"

He sighed and stroked her face again. "I've missed you too Anne."

His heart thumped in his chest as she turned towards him then he sounded out the words again "I love you Anne."

She smiled widely, in a happiness Gilbert had only ever imagined. Her body sprang from its position into his good arm burying herself there. "I thought you loved Christine!" she exclaimed. "she made it clear on several occasions she hated me."

"What?!" Gilbert asked.

Anne nodded. "It was like 'you rejected my boyfriend' like she was mad at me for it, ask Phil she was really quite mean when your back was turned, she might not have been your girlfriend Gil but she fancied you rotten and she warned me off."

"She what?!" Gilbert exclaimed.

"Yes, she did!" Anne told him. "Do you remember that dance right after the Christmas you sent me my necklace? You saw us talking, she was warning me off." Gilbert looked at Anne in shock "You don't believe me?" Anne asked.

"No, of course I believe you, its just unbelievable behaviour on her part., especially considering she has a fiancé!" He told her she looked up at him surprised "not me I hasten to add." He looked at her shocked face" if you saw the pictures then did you see any with a bloke with really blond hair side parting floppy kind of style? That's him, Andrew, I told him I would take care of her while she came on the exchange, that's all I was doing." Gilbert assured her. "She was nice in her own self but she was dull as a doornail." Gilbert admitted. "she's not even my type, how could you think it?!" Gilbert asked confused.

"She's got nut brown hair and starry eyes, she might as well have been called Cordelia to throw in the bargain." Anne said.

"Anne!" Gilbert said his mouth wide in surprise. "I can't _believe_ you!" he told her "How could you think I would move on so fast?"

"I thought at the time that you never really loved me and so you just moved on to the next girl and she was more accommodating." Anne admitted. "I was sooo jealous." Anne laughed in her tears, "not that I knew it at the time or admit it even if I did know, whenever I saw the picture on Facebook or saw you together here, that's when I would get more serious with Roy. Such a stupid little thing I am."

He reached to her and kissed her squarely on the lips. "No you aren't, I'll have no more of that miss." He said to her with a cheeky grin. Her mouth a jar her eyes still closed her body swaying and her hands were frozen where his face had been. "What?" he asked her.

"Do that again." She told him.

He smiled widely then did as she commanded and kissed her more, this time in a long steady kiss. She felt her control slipping and she giggled into it. "What?" he asked her.

"Just, with him, with Roy, one of the reasons I wanted to stay with him was I was always in control of my feelings for him." She said. "I was never angry or passionate, he couldn't evoke enough of me to get a reaction." She admitted. "It took me a while to realise it, to really understand, you invoke the strongest emotions because of how deeply I feel for you." She said softly. He smiled and nodded before she kissed him again then added "I love you so much." She whispered. His lips came back to hers she giggled in delight before their kiss deepened.

Happiness grasped at him when she brought one hand round his back holding him to her and the other played with the curls of his hair. She pulled back and looked at him with wide eyes.

"Gil," She whispered between kisses, "the only reason I walked away that day…"

"You thought you'd turn me into a monster that I'd change." He said.

"You know!" she exclaimed before she realised "of course you do, because you know me, you understand it all, without words…" she said pulling him in for another kiss. "My true kindred." She whispered. "My soulmate." She said capturing his lips again. He pulled back for a moment blushed slightly

"Aren't you happy Gilbert?" she asked him.

He took a deep breath "Of course I am." He whispered. "I'm just…" he trailed. "I'm trying my best to control my reactions." He told her. "I just… I don't want to scare you again." He told her honestly he grinned at her and said "First loves are intense you know."

"I know." She said to him gently. "What do you think scared me so much the last time." She whispered. Gilbert looked to her shocked and she looked wide eyed to him "You didn't know," She whispered. "You really don't know do you?" She said kissing him lips quickly then kissing him on his nose. "You were, or rather you are because you never stopped being…" he kissed her fast holding her to him before she pulled back her lips "my first and my only, true love." Anne smiled and playfully pinned him to the picnic blanket lying on top of him. "How about, I tell you, just how much, I'm not scared this time." She whispered before she returned his kiss, just as firm, with just as much certainty and there she stayed until he couldn't help the gasp which sounded from his chest. He tried to move away gently but that was when she kissed gently into his neck whispering to him "Do that again Gil." Before she kissing up his neck to his cheek before he captured her lips again. To which he was caught completely off guard he did it again before she moved away with a giggle lay beside him, snuggling into his side. "That's better." She whispered she put her ear to his heart where she heard it pounding fast. "Gilbert Blythe, I've never heard a heartbeat as fast!" she teased him.

"You've never heard what my heart does whenever I'm around you." He told her enjoyed the closeness, before a ringtone went off in Gilbert's pocket. Anne smiled as she recognised the tune. "Sorry my mother." He told her taking the phone out his pocket.

"I hope so with that ringtone, Mr T. your role model on how to treat your mother?" she asked him.

"Hey, ain't no greater respect. I pity the fool who dishonours his mother!" Gilbert exclaimed. "Mother there is no other like mother, so treat her right." He went along with the lyrics which made Anne laugh before he answered it "Hey Ma." He paused a minute. "Yeah, we got here about half an hour ago." He said.

"we?" Anne heard his mother ask.

"You don't hike alone ma, you know that." He said with a grin.

"Who?" she asked.

"Anne." He told her honestly. "Yes Anne Shirley, how many other Anne's do I know…" he sighed "because she's the only one who doesn't treat me like an invalid ma." He bit his bottom lip sitting up listening to his mother. "That's not going to happen ma." Anne sat up likewise worried by the half conversation she could hear. She could only imagine the reservations his mother had about her now. She used to be close to his mother, she loved his mother, she knew when she rejected Gilbert that relationship was in ruins too. "We'll come home soon Ma." He said gently he grinned at Anne, she gently moved so she could kiss him on his jawline. "yes, we…" he confirmed. Her kisses started to distract him from the phone call, he enjoying the kisses she was bestowing, "because we're hanging out and we're enjoying ourselves." He said, Anne almost giggling as his cheeks started to deepen pink his voice reflected his distraction. "Hour and a half…" he said, Anne pulled back with wide green eyes her bottom lip pouting "maybe two or a little longer." He said then her lips turned to a smile. "Love you too ma." His knees up in front of him, his head tapped his phone as it went down into his knees. "sorry about that." He said to him.

"That's alright, its sweet she still cares to check on you." Anne whispered looking at the phone.

"She loves you really you know." He whispered, reading her mind.

"She hates me and I can't blame her." She sighed.

"She loves you and was disappointed that's all." Gilbert told her. "Wait till we get home and tell her about this…" Gilbert trailed. "You do…" he started "You do want to carry on this don't you?" he asked her. "whatever this is?"

Anne grinned leaned over and kissed him again. "I was rather hoping, that this meant I was your girlfriend and that we'd tell the whole world about this." She whispered.

His grin turned to a beaming smile "Really?" he asked her.

"Ask me out..." she whispered in his ear. "Roy didn't really he assumed, I want to be wooed." She said with a grin.

He smiled and brought her lips to his "Irresistible." He said with a grin. "Anne?" he whispered.

"Yeah." She whispered back.

"Do you want to make us official?" he asked her. "Will you court me?" he asked.

"ohhh," she said with a wide smile shifting on his legs to make herself more comfortable "Courting, I like that!" she flirted.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"so much better then 'going out' or 'girlfriend', I like it." She whispered.

"For gods sake Anne will you answer the question?!" he said with a laugh with her.

She pulled out her phone and turned the camera on, her arm went on front of them and she took a picture of them smiling together he couldn't help but get a little excited when she kissed him and took a picture another taken when they were looking at each other and another when he kissed her forehead.

"Is this a yes?" he asked.

"Shhh." She teased.

She went to Instagram putting the four pictures together to one and then shared it on both Instagram and Facebook, then went to Facebook and went to her info. He looked over her shoulder watching what she was doing. "You are literally telling the world!" he exclaimed.

"Yep." She said as she clicked on "In a relationship" then tagged Gilbert in the field. "I want to court you Gilbert." She whispered before his kissed him deeply again and pressed 'save changes' then she updated her profile picture to the pictures she had just taken of them, while she was there she reclicked on the follow button on Gilbert's profile and 'see first' . He took his phone and did the same thing using the same picture he borrowed from her profile and then changed his relationship field in a likewise manner.

"Well…" he sighed. "Its out there." He told her.

"Yep." She agreed.

"regretting it yet?" he asked her.

"not even a little." She confirmed putting her phone away then jumping into his good arm again. "Now you've given us less than an hour to make out alone up here." She flirted with him.

"terrible start to our relationship." He smiled.

She looked at him softly and whispered "Oh my love."

He grinned whispering back "I think I like the sound of that sweetheart." He admitted.

"Sweetheart." She grinned before their lips flirted, sweeping across each other, their lips barely grazing flirting with each other. "Can you feel that?" she whispered.

"Yeah." He agreed. "Our charge." He whispered.

"That pull." She whispered.

"I've felt it since day one." He said with a smile.

"Lets not fight it…" she said to him "Anymore."

And they didn't.


	37. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 1

**Hi Everyone,**

 **Can I firstly say thank you to everyone who has already commented (and who will comment) on my new story Secret Delight. It was one I only magicked up in a couple of days, chapter 2 isn't written and people who know me KNOW I like to plan ahead in my stories...**

 **Speaking of which I'm only 4 chapters ahead on this one so it feels really close! (The rest I've had a good portion of the story written before publishing the parts) BUT I have the ideas of where I want it to go pretty fast!**

 **So obviously this part is AOWW/AHOD era. Its going to be written out differently just because this is not 1890s. 128 years later relationships develop differently and different things are acceptable within those parameters. Where I have convictions of my own of what is acceptable in those perimeters for myself, I have not made _these_ Gilbert and Anne stick within those perimeters. Let me make it clear I am happy and secure in my relationship, I love my husband and I am happy with how my early relationship worked out. And Anne and Gilbert will be so happy with their relationship.**

 **I know mostly I say these things and everyone is fine with it but this isn't an 1890s relationship. Things are discussed which are grown up. I've kept it within implication... I think.**

* * *

Their hands joined Anne and Gilbert couldn't stop grinning as they headed back to Blythe farm. They stopped frequently, Gilbert stopping them in seemly random places to kiss her with endless tales of "I've wanted to kiss you here since…"

Anne smiled and sometimes laughed. "It's a melancholic kind of love, isn't it?"

"I should say not!" He objected quickly. "Why on earth would you describe it as that?!" he exclaimed.

"To think, we have these banks of memories, of just you and I, of all the times we wanted to become closer. Its full of the potential moments of love. Moment where, had you not been as unsure, if I had been more secure we _could_ have been a couple." He looked to her with disbelieving eye as she seemly swooned over it. "Isn't it romantic?" she asked him.

"What I described was romantic yes, but melancholic?" he questioned. He shook his head and his bottom lip protruded just in the slightest which made Anne smile. "To you, it may have been all the moments we could have, but to me it was all the moments to look forward to. It brought me hope that one day, maybe we could come back to all these spots, as a couple and make them secretly ours, for us to have our in looks and jokes about these places, for it to be our secret delight and no one elses."

"Hope?" She enquired her eyes wide. She looked down to the ground watching the stone pathway beneath them for a few seconds before she continued "Is that why you wouldn't spend any meaningful time in Avonlea?" she asked him.

He swallowed and replied to her "I lost hope." He admitted. "I lost…" he struggled to find the word before he settled on "…me." He continued "Not just me me, but the best me, the me I always wanted to be and who I was around you." He shrugged then said "Has anyone told you what happened?" he asked her "The days after my recovery?" he asked her, to which she shook her head. "I had a dream, or at least I thought it was a dream where I woke up in the hospital room and you were there and I made some terrible joke about the dwarfs and Snow White."

Anne laughed "You told the nurse not to make you Dopey." Anne remembered.

"I thought it was a dream." He admitted. "I woke and I kept looking at the chair you had been sitting in and I thought I was crazy for thinking you had been there. I then got a texted from Phil telling me to try again informing me a certain Anne Shirley wasn't engaged." He said with a smile.

"So you knew?!" Anne asked referring to their earlier conversation.

"I had an unconfirmed rumour." He admitted "and _that_ had been enough to endanger myself in the first place." He told her. "So, my dad asked what the text was I told him and he said 'well I saw no engagement ring when she came to the hospital and he gave me your jacket.'" Gilbert grinned and continued "and that's when I started to really hope again. The doctors were amazed at how quickly I seemed to recover." He chuckled "I was practically bouncing off the walls to come home."

Anne blushed and she looked up at him. "It gave you hope again." She acknowledged, "All of this could become a reality again." She smiled and bit her bottom lip "yes Gilbert." She agreed "That is much more romantic then melancholy."

He chuckled and held her in a little tighter as they approached Blythe Farm House "I think you've been hanging around with those who have melancholic tendencies far too long."

Anne chuckled replying "Is that what we're calling him from now on?" to which she received a good and hearty laugh from Gilbert, he stopped suddenly on the veranda, she was a little behind him her hand in his she cooked to him concerned "Are you okay?" she asked him.

He took a deep breath and lead her to the veranda swing sitting her down he said to her gently "I want to discuss something with you." He said practically.

"O-K?" she questioned at the sudden change in his behaviour.

He looked at the ground and took a deep breath before he looked up and said to her "well there's two things really, there's going to be a lot of discovery about each other as we get to know each other again, I mean it has been two years and there are going to be things we're both sorry for, and its not as if those individual things don't need saying or don't need addressing, but I don't want the first few weeks of our relationship to be all about 'sorry's' and apologising for what's happened." Anne looked at him quizzically, where she agreed with what he was saying she wondered where he was going with it. "The things which will effect us, our relationship we will need to address, absolutely and we will we just need to say the things which need to be said. "Can we not make our relationship about our past mistakes? Can we not just draw a line here and say we are sorry for all the implied, intended and unintentional hurt and yes address it talk about it, but not to make it a sorry state." He sighed and looked at her "I love you." He told her simply.

She smiled and said softly "I think that rule will benefit me more Gilbert, you do need to know how sorry I am."

"I do know it." He whispered before he pecked her quickly on the lips "I've always read those eyes love, those who know you and love you most know all your expressions are there. I don't need to hear it over and over again, I'm much too practical for such behaviour. I get that we're both sorry, so why don't we just show it rather then repeating it over and over, it just makes it redundant."

Anne sighed then nodded reluctantly before she asked "and the second? You said two things." She said to him.

"Yes, well this one might be a bit more difficult to do." He admitted. "For both of us, you know what I'm like." He held her hands in his stroking the back of her hands with his thumbs "We're both very passionate people, we have our views and we stick with them." He said with a nod "and where there's nothing wrong with it and its good to have a good healthy debate about things and I'm not opposing to debates..." he trailed before he shook his head "You know what forget it." He said.

"You want us not to argue in public?" she asked him. He looked to her as if worried she might just start an argument over it there and then, but he nodded his head for a moment and she sighed "You think after being in a relationship with Roy for two years, that's kind of a relief to hear." She admitted. He looked to her shocked "I'm surprised you didn't know he had a temper on him, he shouted at me in public on several occasions, well you saw at the graduation dance, I know everyone was looking."

"It was a habit?" he asked Anne softly. "I didn't know that." He said feeling a lump in his throat forming. "What an awful thing to endure, I know you were a bit yourself in refusing to change the dress but you just stood there and took it." He said to her "and I was waiting, I was waiting for my _Anne_ to show up, for your eyes to turn green for your jaw to set for you to give as good as you got and it never came." He said to her. "it _killed_ me!"

"You rescued me again." He said with a smile to him her nose rubbing his. "Healthy debate every time." She said with a kiss "any arguments can wait until we are behind closed doors." She agreed. She looked at him and asked "are you concerned about, how this will work? How people will view this? How people will react?" she asked.

"No." He told her straight. "Its no one's business but ours." He said with a smile to her. "Yes?" he confirmed.

"Yes." She whispered though he knew she was concerned. "Come on then," he grinned, "lets face my mother." He said pulling her up.

* * *

Unknown to them Mrs Blythe had been watching through the kitchen window when they came in it wasn't a surprise that Anne was there but still she stood still, he jaw set, her eyes firing daggers at the pair.

She looked at Anne for a moment before she talked to Gilbert directly. "You're over an hour later then you said you would be." She stated.

"We were just enjoying the sunshine a bit ma." He told her softly. "Ma…" he tried as he noticed Anne was standing slightly behind him, almost hiding herself behind him her head low.

"You shouldn't have gone out at all with that arm…" she tried.

"I had Anne with me, it was a gentle walk…" he started.

"Your gentle walk is a five-mile round trip!" she defended as her eyes flicked to Anne again.

Gilbert physically turned to Anne and touched her elbow lightly "would you like to go and find something on Netflix to watch?" he asked her. To which she nodded non-confidently "You remember where my room is?" he continued.

"Um, yeah." She said quietly.

"My password is the same to get onto my laptop, I'll be up in a minute." He said quietly and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before she nodded and went upstairs without a word.

Mrs Blythe sighed heavily and glared at her son "so this is how its going to be?" Mrs Blythe asked him "you just pick up where you left off two years ago with her and we all have to act like she didn't break you!..." Mrs Blythe started.

"Mom," he said gently.

"Don't you 'mom' me like that, I know your expectation."

"Mom, Anne is my girlfriend."

Her reply was a shocked face and wide look to her son. "You can't be serious!?" she exclaimed. "Do you remember she is the reason you wouldn't come home?!"

"Don't tell me what my motives were!" he said hotly.

"Don't tell me, she didn't break your heart, she didn't leave you coldly and dated another boy for two years, don't tell me you didn't stay in New York because it hurt you too much to be here!" His mother started.

"I never told you!" Gilbert said astonished. "I never told anyone actually, so tell me mom, how did you know the very private conversation Anne and I had two and a half years ago?" he asked.

"Charlie's mother!" Mrs Blythe admitted. "He heard it from a boy in his dorms, because apparently your very private conversation was had in a very public park! Is this how its going to be Gilbert? I've had to stand by and watch my otherwise brilliant son's heart break over the last two years! Then Anne Shirley sweeps back into your life and you just roll over and accept everything that's happened, all the pain all the hours, days weeks you missed coming home, just because its her!"

Gilbert took a deep breath to calm himself he closed his eyes and rubbed them for a moment before he said quietly "I won't deny Anne rejected me, I won't deny how that made me feel and yes, it is _one_ the reason I stayed away for so long. " He said honestly. He looked at his mother before he wrapped his good arm around her. "If you only knew all of it mom," he admitted. "If only you knew, you'd understand, please believe me when I say mom, you need to start loving her again." He said quietly.

"Gil…" His mother objected.

"She deserves to be loved." Gilbert said quietly. "Please believe me." He said quietly. "please try mom." He whispered.

His mother didn't reply directly but said quietly. "Your girlfriend huh?" she asked to which he nodded. "Have you had sex yet?" she asked him, to which he shook his head. "Just as well." She said. "Will Anne be sleeping here?" she asked him.  
"I don't know yet." Gilbert admitted. "We've only been together a couple of hours." He said meekly to which she nodded.

"Well that explains the tardiness."

Gilbert sighed and started to walk towards the stairs "Anne is going to be here often mom." He said quietly. "I love her."

After a quiet look between mother and son he went up the stairs and went into his bedroom, Anne was perched on the side of his bed barely sitting on it to which he chuckled "for heaven's sake Anne you used to sprawl all over my bed, now we're together your perching on it"

"Its different now." She said with a blush.

"Yes, it is." he said sitting beside her letting her cuddle into him to make her more comfortable "Now I'll bask in the glorious scent of you." He said with a laugh to which she smiled softly.

"glorious scent?" she asked him.

"It drove me crazy!" he admitted "Being able to smell you while I was trying to sleep. When all I wanted was to have..." he faded a moment, "probably too soon to be admitting that, sorry." He said with a blush.

"The night after I spent the night, that night the night I told you everything, I was having trouble sleeping, I couldn't figure out why I was so uncomfortable with Roy in the same bed as me but that was the second time I'd fallen asleep on you."

"Second time?" he asked.

"The rejection of Averil, remember? I slept on you." She said quietly. He smiled shyly his lips upturning to the lopsided grin she knew so well "Roy's bed was one of those huge huge emperor size bed, I'm convinced he actually slept in a different post code to me." She said shyly. "I never should have let him convince me it was a good idea." She said quietly. "I perched on the edge of one side of the bed, I lay awake and I..."

"You didn't sleep?" he asked her looking at her incredulously.

"Not a wink. Gil," she continued "I'm so sorry, I should have waited for..."

"I thought we said no 'sorry's'." He said with a grin.

"I know, I am though."

"You're apologising for lying on a bed with your ex boyfriend?" he asked and he laughed "Anne believe me, my jealous imagination had it much worse then lying on a bed."

"I felt as though I was cheating on you." She said honestly.

"Anne, he was your boyfriend!" he exclaimed.

"But I wanted..." she started all confidently but paused suddenly and blushed biting her bottom lip. "I wanted you."

He smiled before he kissed her lips lightly and whispered "Do you know how long I've waited to hear that?" he smiled as he kissed her again. "You didn't even sleep Anne, I can't even pretend to be angry."

"Are you angry at me?" she asked him emphatically.

"Am I angry that you tried to make your relationship work?" he asked. "no, not angry." He said. "I was concerned at the time, worried, you were trying so hard in a relationship which was all wrong."

She sighed. "Just imagine how well I'd work in a relationship which is all right?" she grinned.

"Oh, that was part of the problem, I did imagine it, frequently, you made me an envious man, because I imagined what you'd be like with me and _you_ talked about being jealous!"

Anne looked to him and smiled softly "You never needed to be."

He smiled back "I know."

The door to Gilbert's bedroom was opened by a passing Mrs Blythe. Gilbert rolled his eyes and got off the bed and crossed the room and closing the door again.

"Your mother hates me." She said quietly her face falling.

"No." Gilbert tried to comfort "No, she just…" He thought before he said "she doesn't remember she loves you yet."

"She has every right to hate me, I'm not complaining." Anne acknowledged.

Gilbert swallowed for a moment before he sat on the bed again and put his good arm around her "she just needs time." He whispered, he quickly turned his attention to the computer screen "Oh, Sherlock!" he exclaimed happily. "You are the best girlfriend in the whole world!" He turned on an episode and they snuggled on his bed cuddling in. He looked to her for a moment before he spoke, "Are you doing anything on Wednesday?" he asked her.

"No, why?" she asked him.

"I was just wondering, I'm due to go to the hospital, see if I can get this off." He told her. "Wanna come?" he asked her.

She looked up and smiled "You want me to?" she asked him.

He grinned and said to her "I would love for the first thing I do, is to wrap both my arms around you." He smiled.

She reached up and kissed into his neck. "I'd love to." She sounded a "Um" and then asked "Do you have any pens?" she asked him.

"Pens?" he returned.

"I am going to colour your cast!" she exclaimed happily. "Make it look pretty." She told him.

"Top draw." He said with a smile. She went over to the top draw and pulled out the pens, she paused and looked at one of the contents of the draw. "Us." She whispered pulling out the old picture.

He looked towards her and said "Bring it out." He suggested. She put it in hand with the pens and handed him the picture.

She pulled one of the pen lids off and started drawing on his cast "why was it in the draw?"

He swallowed. "I had little reminders of us everywhere." He admitted. "When you said no, I just hid them, I couldn't face to burn them or rip them so I hid them, then I wasn't here, I didn't change or hide them, then this last summer I was too…" he took a deep breath before he said "… I was too scared to take them out in case…" he blushed going quiet.

"In case you lost me again?" she asked gently.

"Yeah." He admitted. He looked up into her eyes and they stayed there for a moment. The look was comforting, loving and understanding. They smiled then he broke eye contact and placed the picture on his bedside table. "There." He said with a grin, "Now it's a picture of me and my girlfriend."

Anne smiled returning her attention to the cast "Before the two-year gap in our relationship." She muttered quietly.

Gilbert looked at her sadly, "before we pressed the pause button." He said gently. "It was needed, for us to know where we were, for us to feel ready to share all of us with the other person."

Anne smiled "by us, you mean me."

"No by us, I mean we." He said. "I don't know how I would have reacted two and a half years ago if you told me everything, when my emotions were so high, so invested in being with you. I wasn't emotionally ready for such a big step and I think it was wise to mature me a little before I did find out. No I may never have said anything to you about it, and I might have outwardly been similar and inwardly I suppose really but I had ideals and I forget sometimes there is a world outside of those ideals and inside my head I might not have been in the place to support you right."

Anne looked to him and nodded in acknowledgement "fair enough, I'll give you that." She smiled. "So we just pressed pause?" she asked.

"We just pressed pause." He agreed. "Oh!" he said jumping from his bed heading for his wardrobe, "I have something which belongs to you." He told her.

"Oh?" she asked.

"Um." He acknowledged opening his cupboard and pulling out his old Leatherman's jacket. Anne smiled as he moved towards her and wrapped it around her again "I don't want this back again understood?" he said playfully kissing her.

She blushed and smiled holding it around her. She kissed him happily "Oh I love this jacket!" she exclaimed smelling into it.

"If you love it so much how come you tried so often to give it back?" he asked her.

"Because of what it symbolised." Anne admitted. "I had your name written all over me." She laughed gently.

"That's the whole point." He said with a grin to her "Marking my territory."

Anne burst into laughter "Your what?!" she managed as she laughed.

He chuckled and repeated "My Territory, You were guaranteed not to be hit on when you had my jacket on." He laughed at the mock of indignation on her face.

"Oh I just can't defend myself!" she said putting on a heavily accent "Whatever would I do without my man?!" she mocked cried.

He laughed watching her then pulled her close in "I didn't believe you could be even more sexy as a damsel in distress." He said biting his lip.

She laughed and cuddled into him she took in a deep breath and sighed "I'll have to give it back every once in a while." She told him.

"Why?" he asked.

"So it can smell like you again." She said with a smile.

"Well when you put it like that!" Gilbert grinned boyishly lying back on his bed.

"Well if I'm keeping this I need to give you something." She told him.

"No, you don't know Anne come on…"

"No no, if you get to mark your territory, I get to mark mine." She told him.

He broke into a full on smile his dimples showing "fair enough." He acknowledged.

"Oh I know!" she exclaimed reaching round her neck taking off her necklace taking one of the rings off, "You remember how we wondering if the 'AS' was for Anne Shirley?" she asked him to which he nodded. "Well, the day I was born dad was sent to town to get a bunch of stuff you know stuff you're meant to put in a baby's bag and forget to and he was walking past a jewellery shop and he saw the ring and he wanted something for me, well for him but to show he loved me as much as he loved mom." She continued, to a perplexed looking Gilbert "So he went and got my initials engraved on the ring and wrote a letter to my mom, a sort of love letter, telling her he was sorry but the wearer of the ring would love another girl, and he would wear the ring for the rest of his life, this girl had entered his world and has stolen his heart and he a spent all this money on buying a ring to symbolise that love and that the girl was me." She smiled. "it was one of the letters in that box you gave me." She smiled.

"That's really sweet." He said with a smile.

She took off the ring "Give me your hand." She offered.

He looked at her his eyes wide "Anne no, that's your ring that's your dad's ring!" he exclaimed.

"You love me, my dad loved me, this is a symbol of love, I can't think of any better place for it." She whispered. "Give me your hand." She said. His hand came in front of her she looked in his eyes and slipped her father's ring onto his middle finger. He looked down at his hand and let out a half gasp as he saw it on his finger. "He'd want it there." She whispered. "I want it there." She smiled the flirted "Mine."

Gilbert smiled and asked her "Can I call you mine?" he asked her finally putting his arm around her as she snuggled in next to him.

"Yes please, I've always want to _belong_ to someone." She said longingly.

He looked at her surprised "How about belong _with_ someone. When _I_ belong to _you_ and _you_ belong to _me_."

She bit into her bottom lip and said quietly "belong with, belong to and my belonging." She smiled. "Yes I like that."

Just then there was a quick knock at his door before it opened and his father appeared there "Gilbert if you're feeling up to it..." John stopped mid sentence as he saw Anne snugged into Gilbert's side. "Oh, Hello Anne." He said with a smile.

"Hello Mr Blythe." She said with a slight flush to her cheeks.

John's lips upturned as he looked at the pair with a smile on his face. "I see." He said simply. "Everything is how it should be?" he asked Anne to which she smiled back and nodded. His upturned lips broke into a smile "I told you it wasn't too late." He told her and a perplexed look appeared on his son's face. John turned to leave.

"Dad?" Gilbert said making him stop for a moment he turned back round. "Did you need me for something?"

John smiled and said "No son, you're right where you need to be."


	38. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 2

**Just a small disclaimed, discussions of birth control methods...**

 **hey I don't know what people might get offended by... it is a _modern day_ edition!**

* * *

"Its a fine evening," Mrs Lynde said with a smile to Marilla "I bet one of the best ones left in summer." She looked to Thea's cross stitch "No dear not like that it'll knot see?" Mrs Lynde instructed her taking the piece from her.

"Don't be so harsh on her!" Davy objected.

"Oh hush boy and listen to me, it would have done you good if someone was harsher with you!" Mrs Lynde objected.

"I'm turning out okay..." he said with a slight pout. "I'm fourteen now, I'm a man in lots of ways."

"If you keep friends with Paul Irving you just might turn out okay." Mrs Lynde said with a huff of her own.

Davy muttered under his breath something about how Paul was perfect as he looked out onto the horizon. "Whose that with Anne?" he asked, seeing the red hair in the distance.

"Probably Gilbert." Marilla acknowledged. "You wouldn't know you've been away at summer camp but he had a fall at the end of last term and hurt himself quite badly." Marilla continued and said to a crest fallen Davy's "don't worry he's been fine, but has been calling on Anne quite often over the summer, it seems they've mended whatever separated them."

She managed to finish her sentence before the pair could be seen kissing at the gate at the top of the field.

"I'll say!" Davy gasped, at his reaction Marilla looked up along with Mrs Lynde and Thea. Unknown to the pair the whole of Green Gables watched with agaped mouths.

They headed down the field Gilbert's hand in Anne's when they came to the veranda it seemed for once Anne was speechless.

"Did you have a nice walk?" Marilla asked innocently.

"It was..." Anne started with the smile forming on her lips she turned slightly to Gilbert whose own grin was spreading across his face.

"Refreshing." He said the smirk finally playing on his lips, to which both Anne and Gilbert starting laughing.

"Refreshing." Anne said between her giggles. With that the older women left the veranda going inside the house.

"Is he a good kisser Anne? I bet he's better then Roy." Davy chirped in.

Anne blushed for a moment before Gilbert looked to her confused she whispered "Davy didn't like Roy."

Gilbert silently 'ah'ed and nodded pressing his lips.

"He didn't treat you right Anne." Davy objected.

"That was not the reason you didn't like him Davy and don't pretend like it was."

"It was." Davy defended. "I decided I didn't like him the second he pulled up in his car with you. Gilbert said you can always tell what kind of man he is by if he opens the door for a girl and Roy didn't Anne and he should know better, I knew you should."

"You told him that?" Anne whispered to Gilbert.

"And then there was the way he's off handily dismissed what you said and that was before the presents... " Davy continued.

Anne looked at him surprised "And here was me thinking it was because of the way he wasn't Gilbert." Anne said with a grin to Davy.

"Well he wasn't." Davy said. "He stole you from Gilbert." Davy said decisively.

Gilbert grinned but said to him "Davy that's not what happened."

"They were together when you came back from New York weren't they?" Davy asked.

"Yes," Gilbert replied "but there was no stealing involved. Most of what happened or didn't came down to us not communicating as we should." Gilbert told him.

Davy looked at him as if he was trying to work out if it was true or not before he nodded. "Are you staying this time Gil?" Davy asked. Gilbert grinned and nodded before Davy sprung into Gilbert hugging him. Gilbert was shocked for a moment before he played his arms around the boy. "I've missed you Gil." Davy told him honestly.

Gilbert grinned and said to him "You too buddy." before Davy pulled away.

"Do you think you can stop kissing Anne long enough for a game?" he asked Gilbert, then before Gilbert had the chance to reply he bounded into Green Gables.

Which was probably just as well because in that moment a car pulled up to Green Gables and out popped Diana Wright looking at Anne "I've been waiting since Junior Year of High School to hear about this and I learn about it on Facebook!" she exclaimed going round her car opening the passenger door and pulling out a bag of popcorn and diet coke. "You have to tell me, _everything_!" Diana exclaimed.

Anne turned and whispered to Gilbert gently "It won't be." She said with a blush and a kiss to his cheek which made Diana squeal. "Come sit on the veranda Diana, lets watch the boys play their football and we can talk. "

* * *

It was the Wednesday, before Gilbert's appointment Anne came to Blythe Farm, she knew Gilbert was out for most the afternoon, they'd talked about when she should come over, but it wasn't Gilbert she was going to see. She knocked on the door to be greeted by Mrs Blythe.

"Anne." She said mildly surprised. "Gilbert won't be home for at least an hour yet didn't he tell you? I thought you two were going to the hospital together."

"Oh yes we are, but I actually came here a little early to see you Mrs Blythe." She admitted.

"Oh?" Mrs Blythe said surprised. "Come on in then," she said a little confused. "Why would you need to see me?" she asked her.

"I owe you an explanation Mrs Blythe."

"An explanation?" she asked.

"Yes." Anne continued. "An explanation." Anne took a deep breath then said "As to why I broke your son's heart."

Mrs Blythe looked at her surprised, nothing she said would make it better, or at least so she thought, when she remembered her son's words 'You need to start loving her again' he'd said, so she nodded her head and guided her through to the living room.

When they were sitting Anne started "It didn't have a lot to do with Gilbert Mrs Blythe, it started before I even met him…"

She went on to explain what had happened in her past.

"I couldn't help getting closer to Gilbert it kept happening and I understand why now, I know I was falling in love, but desperately trying to stop it, because of what…" she took a sigh trying to contain the tears which were already prevalent on her face.

"Because of what you thought 'love' would do." Mrs Blythe understood. "You didn't want to do that to Gilbert."

Anne nodded "When he kissed me two years ago, it felt as it should, it was…" she half gasped at the memory but blushed at her present company "…you don't need to hear how good your son is at kissing."

Mrs Blythe chuckled through her own tears. "No, no I don't need to. But it's good to know that his affection was returned."

"it was, I was in love, I _am_ in love." She said. "but two years ago, when he told me he loved me it terrified me and all that I heard inside my head was that man telling me, if a man said he loved me he was only ever after…" Anne trailed and blushed again. "I needed time, I needed just a little while inside my head to tell him to find the right words to tell him." Anne sighed. "As it was, through misunderstanding the 'space' Gilbert asked for became a caesium for so long and I was trying to replace him with someone who didn't understand me, who I would never be able to share this part of myself with, but I would see things on Facebook which would make me so jealous, like you said those daredevil stunts and he was always with Christine…"

Mrs Blythe looked up surprised at Anne "You thought they were together?"

"It pushed me forward in my relationship with Roy, I know it doesn't make sense, emotionally, I was a wreck, I was just in a downwards spiral, I lost him, I lost Gilbert, or at least I thought I did."

" _That_ girl was not Gilbert's type, nor was she for him." Mrs Blythe said to her to which Anne looked up confused.

" _You_ didn't like her?" Anne asked.

"I only met her twice, while we were up visiting Gilbert." She admitted. "I _knew_ she had a boy…" she paused before she continued "but she _flirted_ with my friends and yet she _flirted_ with _my_ son like he was hers!"

"I didn't think you couldn't like anyone." Anne admitted confused "Of course, except…"  
"No, Anne sweetheart." She told her, her hands coming over Anne's. "I love you, I wanted you to be my daughter in law, I was just bitterly disappointed when it looked like it wouldn't be you." She told her gently "Then over protective again when it seemed as though he was falling for you all over again and you had the power to just crush him at your will."

Anne looked to her shocked her eyes filling with tears "You wanted me?" she questioned.

Mrs Blythe looked to Anne, her eyes filling with tears again "How could I not?" Anne gasped and pulled Mrs Blythe in for a hug.

"Matthew, Gilbert, Diana, Marilla, you." She listed.

"What's that?" she asked.

"All the people who wanted me." Anne said quietly.

Mrs Blythe looked to her sympathetically then told her "You can add John to that list, he adored you, even when I was angry he wouldn't have me say a word against you in front of him, I think, you remind him of someone who he was once very close to." She smiled kindly. "It was before we met but I know he had been in love before, I think she was a lot like you. I never got to know her too well but, I know if anything was ever said against her he would defend her, even many years after they parted ways." Her smiled widened "Well, the Blythe boys always know how they like their women." She said with a laugh which made Anne smile.

"Stubborn, single minded, hot headed..." Anne wiled off.

"Intelligent, bright, unshakable in resolve." She said proudly and she looked at Anne seriously "How do you think I knew you were his type from the first day?" she said with a smile.

"Well I'm glad it had to do with my personality, my looks were never going to get me anywhere." She said plainly, not for sympathy but as a matter of fact.

"Don't put yourself down Anne, I think a pretty face attached to those things qualities had my boy besotted." She took a deep breath "plus, it takes them a very long time to get over past loves." She admitted.

"a quality which only worked in my favour." Anne admitted.

Mrs Blythe shrugged "Well Gilbert has always tried to bury his feelings, not show them, when he was six he claimed the right of Kolinahr." She said with a curious look to Anne to see if she would know the reference.

To which she received a sweet laugh "Oh that's so typically him." She smiled and could see the look in Mrs Blythe face "The Vulcan study of logic, what triggered that?"

"He tried out for..." she started but Anne didn't need to be told.

"The ice hockey team!" Anne gasped. Mrs Blythe looked to her surprised. "It was one of the first things he told me about himself."

Mrs Blythe was taken aback looking at her seriously "he never tells anyone about that."

Anne took a deep breath and said quietly "we seemed to have always told each other things we don't share with others."

Mrs Blythe nodded "he was bitterly disappointed, but instead of dealing with it he tried to just push the feelings away rather then deal with them, he said he'd rather miss the highs then deal with the lows."

Anne took a deep breath "That's so sad." She whispered. "I can't imagine Gilbert without his..." she looked up "I was going to say smile, but I mean emotions."

"I love my son more than anything, you know he's never been able to handle negative so well." She said. "I think..." she said with a smile "I think you should help with that." She told Anne, "You know I always wanted a daughter to go shopping with and play with her hair and really have that mother daughter bond, with." She took a deep breath and said "now I know you have Marilla for that, but is there room for a good in law?" she asked her.

It was then Gilbert walked in his girlfriend and his mother sitting on the sofa in the living room. His mother's eyes glazed in tears holding Anne's hands. Gilbert knew instinctively Anne had told his mother everything.

"I'll um," Anne said quietly "I'll wait for you in your room." Anne stated getting up and kissing Gilbert by way of hello before she went up the stairs.

His mother sat quietly for a moment before she leapt up and went to Gilbert hugging into him as she started to cry. "How long have you known?" she eventually asked him.

He sighed gently and licked to lips to start speaking "since mid-term." He admitted. "It's how we started talking again." He admitted.

"Oh Gilbert!" his mother cried. "Our poor Anne!" she broke. "How can she bare it?! How is she who she is? How is she not full of hate and pain?"

Gilbert smiled gently and looked down at his mother who looked up at her son

"Because she is our Anne." He whispered.

She suddenly struck his arm in a slap "Ouch!" he exclaimed.

"You treat her right Gilbert Blythe do you hear me?!" she exclaimed.

"Mom!" he exclaimed rubbing his arm where she had hit. "Of course I'm treating her right!" he exclaimed.

She stiffly nodded her head and broke into a smile "Now you get up those stairs and spend some time with her!" she exclaimed. "Oh and tell her she is welcome whenever she likes, even overnight, Oh and now, do you have condoms in?"

"Mother!" Gilbert exclaimed. "We're not having sex yet, slow down!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" she countered "You need condoms, I'll get you some."

"No! Mom I don't need you buying _condoms_ for me, please leave it to me?" he asked her. "Mom please?"

"Oh alright, just don't leave it too late okay? And be gentle when you do…" she continued then pinched her son's cheeks "Oh my grandbabies will be so cute!" she exclaimed. "Oh I can just picture them! Imagine her red hair on a baby!"

Gilbert fought back a smile, truth was he had imagined his children with Anne more times than he could count but he wasn't going to give his mother that satisfaction yet. He simply rolled his eyes and said "You know your going about getting grandbabies the wrong way if you buy me condoms." He said with a cheeky grin which only made his mother smile as he opened the door to the living room to go up the stairs to his room. He closed the door and watched Anne, with a glint of admiration in his eyes as she played with her phone for a moment before she looked up.

"That was really brave Anne." He said to her softly.

"She needed to know." Anne admitted. "I could already see you having to choose between your mother and your lover and I didn't want to be the cause of a rift between your mother and you and one day it would happen if she didn't know, if it carried on as it did." Anne admitted. "… and you'd resent me one day, I couldn't stand the thought."

Gilbert smiled and said "she practically told me to come up here and start to copulate!" to which Anne giggled. "I'm serious she's expecting grandbabies and everything." He said laying on the bed letting Anne slide next to him and cuddle into his side. They were silent for a moment before she asked

"You're not about to tell me I shouldn't have told her, are you?" Anne asked.

Gilbert looked down to her his eyebrows up in shock "No, love. It's your past to share." He said quietly. "It was really very brave." He said admiring her kissing into her hair.

"I said she could tell your dad, but to be sure it went no further. I think the people who need to know should, all of this affects them too." Anne said quietly. He nodded in agreement "Thank you." She told him.

"Thank you?" he asked.

"Thank you for supporting me." She said softly.

"Every day, every moment. Forever." He whispered.

Anne smiled cuddling into him. "Gilbert Blythe, you really are the most romantic man I have ever met!" she squealed as she hugged into him.


	39. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 3

discussions of a women's monthly cycle and fantasises and their physical consequences

* * *

"You gave us quite the scare Gilbert." The doctor said with a smile to him. "I thought I told you I never wanted to see the name 'Blythe' on an 'in patient' name again, I didn't just mean your father." He smiled.

"Its just a broken bone Doc." He said with a smile to him, Anne looked confused to Gilbert "Doctor Dixon is the leading doctor here in the hospital for cancer, it was him who recommended my father for the treatment he received while we were away." Anne nodded in understanding and Gilbert looked to the doctor "I was surprised when I saw my consultation was with you though."

"Well the name 'Blythe' showed up it was assumed, but I didn't correct it, its nice to be in a different part of the hospital every once in a while, of course if you feel more comfortable I could…"

"No!" Gilbert objected. "no no, please you, I'd prefer it."

"Good." Doctor Dixon admitted. "Your father is well?" he asked Gilbert.

"Oh yes, much better, he works harder then he should but he's well." Gilbert admitted.

"And from what I understand will soon have a doctor in the family himself yes?" Doctor Dixon asked him.

Gilbert smiled eagerly "Yes, I hope to start in three weeks, so I really really wanted the cast off!" Gilbert exclaimed.

Doctor Dixon nodded and asked him outright "the son of a farmer, can I ask how are you affording it?"

Gilbert swallowed as Anne looked as eager as the doctor for an answer "a scholarship of sorts actually." Gilbert admitted.

"Of sorts?" he asked.

"My fraternity places huge emphasis on further education after BA, BSc's, and when their president is candidate for it the alumnae sponsors a president in their field. The alumnae have a number of doctors in their mix. The idea is that eventually I'll be in a place where I am able to sponsor too, as an ex lamb president, I sponsor someone, even in part and the debt is paid, which is kind of ideal actually because I would want to repay it that way."

"Your chosen field?" Doctor Dixon asked.

"I haven't decided yet for sure." Gilbert said his smile wide. "I have a few ideas."

Doctor Dixon smiled "You always were ambitious." He agreed. "Sounds like you were in the right place at the right time being noticed by the right people." He smiled as there was a knock on the door. "Ah, thank you Nurse Fern." He smiled opening the file he opened it and took the x-ray to the light box and popped it on the wall. "Come on then Gilbert," he smiled "future doctor, tell me what you see?" he told Gilbert.

Gilbert chuckled and got off the bed and walked to the light looking at it. He pointed to the bones in place "my phalanges, metacarpus, carpus, ulna, radius, the end of my humeral medial epicondyle with my humeral trachea and capitulum." He said.

"That's right well done." Doctor Dixon said. "Do you remember which bone you broke?" he asked.

"The radius." He said. "You can see there." He continued looking at the x-ray tracing his finger on it. "Its fixed." He smiled. "Isn't it?" he asked the doctor who nodded.

"Well done Doctor Blythe." Anne teased.

"You will need these." Doctor Dixon said to a smile to Gilbert handing him some leaflets. "Those will help the healing of that arm. Now, tell me you didn't drive here yourself?"

"No Anne drove us here." Gilbert smiled.

"Well.." Doctor Dixon continued "let her take care of you a little longer, get that arm up to strength before going back to school."

"I don't think I'll have much choice." Gilbert smiled.

"You know if you need someone to shadow for a while, during your vacations from university, you could always come here." Doctor Dixon smiled. "I'd um, be sure that it was a paid position."

Gilbert smiled and nodded. "Thank you Doctor Dixon, I'll be in contact." Gilbert agreed.

They left the office and turned a corner in the corridor, where Gilbert took her by the hand and folded her into him, both his arms wrapped around her he held her close.

Anne smiled shyly looking up through her eyelashes she blushed lightly as he lowered his lips to hers kissing her lightly. "Is it how you imagined Gilbert?" she asked him.

"Better." He whispered to her his arms still around her and he chuckled with her. He lowered his lips again to meet hers and they kissed again. His fingers found her skin peaking from beneath her t-shirt as she reached her arms around his neck and he took a deep breath in.

She pulled back and looked at him giggling. "That's only the bottom of my back Gilbert, what are you going to do when…" To which he replied by kissing her firmly. "Mmm." She flirted "yes that'll do indeed."

* * *

Hey Di, would you mind popping into the convenience store since you're in town and bring some tampons with you please? My monthly is early AGAIN!

 **Seen at 11:30**

While you're at it some chocolate too, like the biggest fat ass bar you can find?

 **Seen at 11:32**

And ice cream?

 **Seen at 11:45**

And some diet coke?

 **Seen at 11:46**

Because you know... I don't want to get fat from all the chocolate and ice cream.

 **Seen at 11:47**

OMG, Gil is meant to be coming over this afternoon!

 **Seen at 11:55**

Well, here's to the world's shortest relationship ladies and gentlemen, he won't want to be with me after he's seen me like this?! I mean I'm all bloated and uncomfortable and PMTing! I knew it, I think I should become a nun, it'll mean a change in religious practices but I'm sure no nun had to worry about PMTing infront of her boyfriend.

 **Seen at 12:15**

I guarantee you Anne, Gilbert will find this most endearing and will want to be there to comfort you and rub you're stomach better (possibly kiss it better).

 **Seen at 12:17**

What would make you say that?!

 **Seen at 12:20**

Look at who you're talking to?

 **Seen at 12:21**

OMG!

 **Seen at 12:22**

Earth please swallow me whole! OMG Gil, you weren't meant to see ANY of that!

 **Seen at 12:22**

I gathered.

 **Seen at 12:23**

Please just delete it all and lets pretend this never happened.

 **Seen at 12:24**

Well if I did I would have a hard time explaining the two litres of Ben and Jerrys, the 900g of Dove Chocolate, the 6 litres of diet coke and I threw in like three packets of Tylenol and bought one of those heat things in with the rice stuff inside, you put it in the microwave for 3 minutes and it heat up... just to be sure.

 **Seen at 12:25**

You didn't!?

 **Seen at 12:26**

I'm afraid there's no going back now.

 **Seen at 12:27**

Oh and please don't become a nun, I'd have to do a million 'Hail Mary's' for the impure thoughts I have about you.

 **Seen at 12:27**

Are you serious?

 **Seen at 12:28**

About you not becoming a nun? Preferably... ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

 **Seen at 12:28**

No not about that, about coming here?

 **Seen at 12:29**

Anne look out your bedroom window.

 **Seen at 12:30**

Anne looked out her window and up pulled Gilbert in his mini. She smiled her cheeks flaming, but she still couldn't help it, she turned and ran down the stairs through the kitchen, straight out the back door and into the waiting and loving arms of her boyfriend.

"Oh my gosh! Gilbert I'm so sorry that was suppose to be for Diana." She said as he held her close to him.

"No?!" he teased "Really?!"

"Oh shut up!" she huffed shoving him lightly.

He laughed and he kept a hold of her round her waist gently. "Relax okay?" he told her gently. "Just like you're all in so am I, for when you're menstruating or not."

"For better or worse?" she asked him.

"Well I wasn't going to propose this soon..." he said with dimples in his face.

"Oh you know how to infuriate me!" she exclaimed.

"And equally I know how to take care of you." He said handing her a bag with all but one of the items she had asked for along with the rice heat pack and the Tylenol.

"You forgot the tampons!" she exclaimed looking in the bag.

"Oh contraire my love." He said with a smile pulling out a second bag, Anne looked in amazement as she saw several boxes of not just tampons but pads too. "So I know you said tampons but there were different sizes, and I didn't quite understand why at first but then I realised it was for how heavy the cycle was right?" he looked at her and her face was a picture of amazement in that moment "but then there was different brands and they all seemed to have different flows on them, so I got the branded pads because I figured they were the best..." Anne's face changed to a smile as he spoke "and they didn't seem to have as many flows on them but then they were all different shapes and so I figured..." he was silenced by her lips pressing into his.

"You got them all?!" she asked him.

"Not all, just the best brand and each size." He said with a smile.

"Gil..." she said with a grin to him her hand going up to stroke his cheek. "I love you." She whispered.

He smiled back and told her "I love you too."

"Come on in," she said sweetly. "Come on in I'll make use of one of these and I'll tell you why."

He grinned slightly as she led him by the hand "Do you know how expensive this stuff is? Its hardly a luxury is it? I mean you don't ask for it to come monthly do you?!"

Anne laughed "To be fair you're only suppose to purchase this one month at a time."

* * *

It was an hour later when Anne had the heat pack under her back with Gilbert's hand slipped under her top his fingertips rubbing lightly across her stomach gently.

Anne sighed opening her eyes she looked at him and said gently "Isn't there something else you'd rather be doing?" she asked him.

He grinned lightly and continued to rub her smooth flat stomach. "No." He told her.

"No?" she asked "Nothing?"

"Nothing." He admitted. "Do you know how many times I wanted to do this?" he asked her.

"This?" she asked. "take care of a menstruating me?" she said.

He smiled a little then said gently "You forget how long I've been in love with you and just how honest we were with each other." He sighed gently. "You told me straight one month, do you remember?" he asked. She smiled and nodded. "Well I sort of noticed a pattern, with your..." he paused for a moment "sensitivities. Not just your mood, you were never moody, just you would like things a certain way that time of month, you'd be more precise, more direct and more shy of yourself too." He said gently. "I figured out the pattern for myself but then one day I saw the way your hand and arm went across your stomach, you were clearly uncomfortable and in pain, I thought 'I wish I could help her'." He paused for a second as he blushed, "Part of my dreams became so much clearer in those moments, we'd be lying together, it didn't matter where, on the shore, on the grass in high school, in our dorms and I'd just be stroking your tummy, it wasn't sexual, just it was comforting for you but it would be for me too." He admitted.

"How?" she asked him.

He smiled and said softly "It would make us real." He admitted "You would be letting me touch you so intimately, there was no way we weren't together."

She smiled at him and asked "While we were still in high school?" Anne said before he looked part mortified "You had fantasies about us in high school?" she asked.

"Um yeah." He said quietly blushing.

"When?" she asked.

"All the time." He admitted after a few seconds.

She smiled softly then asked "Then when was the first?" she asked.

He shook his head and said "You of all people don't want to know that." He told her.

"Oh come on!" she protested, "Please Gilbert, just tell me, we've never shared this side of us with each other, just tell me." She asked.

"I can't." He admitted.

"Why not?" she probed.

"Because it was too soon!" he exclaimed.

She turned on the bed towards him looking at him in amazement "too soon?" she asked.

He took a sigh and said softly "I thought it was a crush for a while, I never really considered it could be more, I knew I cared more then I should from day one but I just convinced myself I supposed it was just a crush." He took a sigh then continued "you remember that day I pulled you from that pillar on the bridge?" he asked her, to which she looked at him and nodded. "Well I went away and for the first time in my life I was _glad_ I was away."

"Because I finally got what I deserved and you were angry at me, it served me right by the way I'm not complaining I deserved it." She said to him looking down sadly.

"I thought I was angry when I pulled away in the boat, I'll admit to that." He said to her quietly "but believe me that was not the reason I was _glad_ I was away." When she didn't reply he continued "I had many dreams for weeks afterwards of _you_ , not just _that,_ you know but of these little fantasies, of just how perfect we'd be and those fantanties often included us telling each other we loved the other and that apparently was _enough_ for a seventeen year old boy..." he blushed the reddest shade Anne had ever seen on his face "I could barely look at you when I came back." He admitted "I was so scared you would be able to read my mind." With a laugh.

She sat up and looked at him in disbelief "I thought you were still angry with me."

"Nope," he admitted quickly "definitely not angry."

"You were..." she stopped and whispered "turned on?"

"Yup." He said quickly. "All the time." He added for clarity.

"All the time?!" Anne said in return.

"every time I looked." He said.  
"Oh!" she said processing it for a few seconds. "At me?" she asked.

"Anne!" he exclaimed.

"Sorry, just, wow!" she said quietly. He sat up a little awkwardly pulling his knees up to his chest his head resting there for a moment before she started to talk. "The night when Stephen and Lavender got together, just before, when we were out on that bench all alone, I told you I was glad we became friends." She said quietly before she practically whispered "That was when I realised I loved you." Gilbert's head shot up and he looked at her his mouth slightly ajar "I was going to say it too, but I stopped myself because I was so very busy convincing myself there was no way you loved me back and that the only reason you would say it was for sex." She said. She looked at him and swallowed before she whispered again "I think I loved you long before then, I can't say when exactly I did fall for you..." she trailed.

"I can't with you either, I think it was from..."

"Carrots." They said in unison with a smile and a nudge from each other before they landed back in each other's arms as they lay back on the bed.

Anne sighed sadly before she said "we could have been _so_ happy, all this time."

He smiled gently kissing into her hair "we _were_ happy remember?" he replied "we were close, we were intimate I've never been like that with anyone before, with regards to our friendship I'm glad we had such a strong one before anything happened."

"Two years it was weakened."

"Which only speaks volumes about how strong our friendship was, how strong our love was, to survive that."

"It doesn't feel weaker." Anne admitted "feels stronger."

"Well you know what they say about absence." Gilbert said with a grin. "Anyway we got there in the end." He smiled before he said "The winter dance, senior year, _really_?"

She laughed softly into his chest and said "I even went to bed thinking of you that night." She told him.

"That makes two of us." He said with a satisfied grin.


	40. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 4

Hi everyone! Finally made time to upload this! My Tuesday was a complete failure I had an awful day! But here it is anyway...

I believe someone asked what Anne's plans were now she's not at university, it answers it here somewhat...

Thank you all for all your reviews and follows it means the world! Hope you all enjoy!

Love Carrots x

* * *

"Just how high up are the Lambs in the hospital?" Anne asked in amazement as they entered Gilbert's apartment building.

Gilbert smiled "I asked them time and time again if they were sure they wanted to pay for something so luxurious." He said with a smile, "They insisted, they own the penthouse and insisted I use it." He said going red.

"There's a security guard and everything!" Anne said with a smile to the guard. "This is amazing!" She said excitingly as they entered the lift.

Gilbert chuckled "well you know I don't like a handouts but Dr Hemming told me my time for living in cramped hall of residents were over." He got out his keys and turned it in the lock for the penthouse.

"Oooo look at you all keys in lifts!" Anne teased.

"Anne." He said rolling his eyes.

"No the buttons are for us mere mortals." She smiled before a key came in front of her.

"This is for you." He said with a grin on his face as she took the key "you can join us gods in the know." He said with a grin.

"Ah, I always knew I was goddess material." She said with a grin to him. "Are you sure you want to give this to me?" she asked him. "Would it not be better with your parents?" she asked him.

"No offense but I don't want my mother walking in on me butt naked." He said with a grin.

"Are you going to walk around butt naked?" she asked him with a flirty eyebrow.

He laughed "I don't know really, but you get the idea." He told her "I want you to feel like you're welcome in my life."

Anne smiled and said quietly "I always feel that Gil."

The elevator dinged to open and Anne picked up the box she was carrying, the doors opened immediately into the penthouse, she stepped in and physically 'wowed' at the apartment.

"Gilbert!" Anne exclaimed looking around.

The apartment was huge immediately to her left there was a closed door and gradually along the wall three other doors were shut. Her eyes moved across the open planned room, at the far end of the room lay the kitchen which spread across the far wall. There was a kitchen Island just in front of the main wall with a double fridge freezer. Along the right wall to the outside was a floor to ceiling window, to which she could see there was a balcony the door at the other side to where they were standing. In front of the kitchen was the living area a huge 'L' shaped sofa a cuddle chair pointed towards the window the television against the wall beside them a bookshelf lay on the same wall.

Gilbert grinned and opened the door next to her "the utility room," he said he walked along the wall opening the next room "the spare room," he continued walking the next door opening, "the bathroom," he opened the last door "and the main bedroom." He looked across the room to a door which was right next to the elevator "That door takes you down the stairs, in case the elevator is ever out of order, the key for the elevator is also the key for the door." He informed her.

Anne swallowed looking around "its furnished, its huge!" she exclaimed.

"It belongs to the lambs." He admitted. "I live here, they told me I could have a roommate, but to be honest you know there are a few people I could spend 24 hours a day with."

"It wouldn't be in here! You'd get lost!" Anne exclaimed. "Although, it wouldn't be 24 hours a day Gil, you'll be at medical school most of the time."

"That much is true." He admitted as they went into the bedroom. "Although I'll be honest I think I am liable to get lost in that bed." He said looking at the king sized double bed.

She laughed and put her boxes down "So everything you've brought are clothes and books?" she asked him.

"My laptop, my mother's weekly 'care packet' which she promised to send every week." He sighed "it won't quite be home." He said quietly looking down sadly for a moment.

Anne looked at him sympathetically. She knew that feeling, when she left for university it seemed no where else could be home. She smiled and took his hand pulling him out to the window overlooking the city "But I think, apart from my own blue room back in 'Patty's place'..." she said with a smile wrapping his arms around her waist "which was cozy and charming," she admitted "something like this," she said looking out at the view of the city "isn't it inspiring Gilbert?" she asked him reverently.

He smiled looking only at her "Only you would find beauty in all things, to the cozy and charming to the big and inspiring." He said plainly to her.

"Its very different," she admitted "to the cozy and charming kind of inspiration, but inspiring all the same."

He looked up his chin resting on her shoulder over the view. "Its a shame you can't see patty's place from here, I think I would have liked to have seen it."

"Really?" she asked. "Oh I'm glad you can't." She said decisively.

"Why?!" he exclaimed.

"If you could see Patty's Place the likelihood is you'd be able to see Roy's mansion and it would be a constant reminder to me how I failed you, every time I was here."

He looked at her sadly and kissed into her neck "You never failed me." He whispered. He smiled at her sweetly as she looked at him and kissed him gently on his lips. "What time is Phil expecting you?" he asked her.

"Half past 4 for dinner at 6." She said to him "she wanted you to come too."

"I'm not one to turn down a homemade dinner." Gilbert said pulling away only far enough to take her hand and move them across the room back towards the elevator.

"Its Phil," she said with a smile "she's more likely to order in."

Gilbert chuckled "then a free meal." Before he continued "then you'll stay there and I'll come back here all on my own." He said almost sadly.

"Its only overnight." Anne said to him gently "and I will be off back to Avonlea in the morning and you'll go to medical school." She said pressing the button for the elevator.

"I can't believe I left it so late coming back." He said with a chuckle "Well _I_ can, when _I_ have a girlfriend like _you_ back home." He sighed "are you sure you can't stay a few days to settle me in?" he asked her.

"I really can't Gil. Andrew is expecting me in the bookstore tomorrow afternoon, I'll be exhausted going in the morning." She said softly as the elevator doors opened. "But it'll be worth it to spend every little moment I possibly can with you."

They walked into the elevator and he slipped his arms around her again "and its much appreciated." He said with a grin to her.

"Ummm." She said sighing satisfied. "You like this don't you?" she asked him looking to his arms around her.

"I love it." He said grinning widely. "I'm finally able to do it, don't think I'm giving up on doing it easily." He said looking at her adorably.

"I'd never ask you to." She whispered to him as they slipped their lips together.

"Good." He whispered as his phone buzzed. He brought it out reading it over her shoulder not willing to let go yet. "Oh." He said looking at his phone disappointed.

"Oh?" Anne asked.

"It's Christine, asking when I'm back in town." He said confused. "I don't get it she's in her Junior year now, she has plenty of friends." He told her.

"She probably wants to get her claws into you." Anne whispered.

"Anne I told you..." he started.  
"I know your intentions love," she told him. "And as far as your feelings go I believe you there was no attraction, but I am telling you I know what hers were." Anne looked to him and said "invite her over." Anne said.

"What?" he asked her.

"Yes, today in fact, you'll see what I mean." She told him "and we can set her straight." Anne suggested.

He sighed and looked at her "alright."

'I'm back now, fancy a catch up?' he typed and showed Anne to which she nodded her approval.

'sure' she almost immediately replied. 'Did you take the penthouse?'

Anne looked to him surprised. "She came and saw it with me." Gilbert said quietly typing a reply to the message. Her face fell slightly but it was enough for him to notice. "Anne..." he started

"No, just..." she sighed and tried not to make eye contact "I'm realising how much I missed out on, studying for MCAT, the results for it, graduation..."

"You were there for graduation, we danced remember?" he said to her tilting her chin to look at him.

"I was there in your arms and I felt so close to you again but you were there comforting me, I..." she took a deep breath and sighed again "I didn't even say congratulations Mr graduating-top-of-your-class and I happen to know by the way it wasn't just the top 5% for medical school, you were being humble again, you got top marks out of everybody."

"Anne..." he whispered.  
"And I missed it all! I missed the studying I missed the hours, I missed the memorising and the worrying and the late night walks and the falling asleep on each other because we were so exhausted from the studying, I missed it all." She said. "And for what?! A bad relationship?"

"Hey!" Gilbert demanded. "Enough." He said softer. "We both know why, we both know the real reasons I will not have you pull yourself down Anne. We're here, yes, a few things are missing that we would have done together, but we made it anyway." He smiled softly "and aren't you glad?" he flirted "You're helping me move into my apartment."

She looked at him then wrapped herself up in him when his phone buzzed. He looked at it and nodded "she's coming at three."

* * *

He opened the door to find her there, a tight mouth smile twisted slightly as she said by way of hello "I heard someone got himself in an accident at the beginning of the summer." She said to him. He stepped aside as she continued to talk and walk "Tut-tut Gilbert Blythe, you'll give the rest of us daredevils a bad name, you always carry the ropes with you." She told him her fingers going along the back of the sofa before she sat on it. "I was concerned."

"Took away the danger element, I got foolish." He said plainly. "You didn't try to visit though, you can't have been all that concerned." He said taking a seat on the cuddle chair opposite her.

She shrugged, "Please you should know I have a terrible bedside manner." She told him as she bit her bottom lip she looked at him and smiled, his brow knitted as he noticed it as flirting but he said nothing at that point. "Besides you were in intensive care, they wouldn't let me in."

"You should have come with Josh and Mike, they came when I was down on the ward, they said they had offered to bring you."

She sighed heavily and pouted "You're being serious again Gilbert, it doesn't suit you." She told him plainly.

"Are you looking forward to your junior year?" he asked her.

"Sure, I suppose." She said with a shrug. "Are you looking forward to living up here? The lap of luxury for no work..." she trailed "well I suppose you did really earn it all those charity events you set up and ran for the lambs."

"It was my job as president to do those events Christine, and what do you care?"

"Took away time from more important things." She pouted again, Gilbert was surprised at himself, had she always flirted like this? "Mind you if this is how they treat all Alumni-President Lambs I suppose you can't complain."

He sighed before saying "I didn't do it for this!" he exclaimed "I didn't even know the award existed before the Alumni committee asked me to join them and told me about it."

"Well you should throw a party." She said looking around "its big enough." She commented "and of course..." she said standing up and wandering over to him sitting on the edge of the cuddle chair with him she leaned into him "escort me to my socials." She said with a smile to him.

He straighten uncomfortably before he said "well you should really check with my girlfriend about that."

She simply laughed before the bedroom door opened and she shot up of the chair and looked with eyes wide to Anne standing in the doorway a picture frame in hand. "You?!" she exclaimed in shock she turned and looked to Gilbert "Are you serious?" she asked him. "You give her the time of day after..."

She looked to Anne again and said to her "How are you Anne?" she asked her.

"Oh very well thank you, but you know you can't help but be well around certain company. But then you'll remember won't you?" Anne said sweetly and intentionally. Christine went pale in the face "Its funny." Anne said from the doorway before she walked across the room to Gilbert "but when we talked about it, it seems Christine you misled people as to the nature of your relationship, well not just people but in particular, me." Anne said as Gilbert brought out his arm to hug her in.

"Well I..." she started.

"I thought it very strange considering Andrew." Gilbert said frankly.

Christine took a step back her face going pale for a moment as Anne looked at her finger "My _my_!" Anne exclaimed, "you certainly are right Gilbert she's _definitely_ engaged." Anne said looking at the ring. "Be sure to send _our_ congratulations to Andrew." Anne said to him to which he nodded.

"I shall, I'll be sure to tell him we won't be far behind them down the aisle." Gilbert said with a grin to Anne to which she genuinely blushed for a moment. "Speaking of which I've not received a save the date yet?" Gilbert questioned.

Christine swallowed "we haven't set a date yet." She said not looking directly at the pair.

"Oh." Gilbert said with a sound of disappointment in his voice. "Be sure to send _us_ one." He said.

"Speaking of us." Anne said to him looking only to him "You already have one of these in the bedroom, do you want this one out here?" she asked him giving him the picture frame.

He looked around for a moment before he settled on a side table, which he put the frame on the picture could be seen clearly across the room, a picture taken of Anne and Gilbert over the summer at Hester's Hill lay in the frame, the two sitting on a picnic blanket Gilbert's arm around her beaming the backdrop of the view from Hester's Hill behind them. "Picture perfect." He said with a smile as he turned around and looked to Anne for approval, to which she nodded "wouldn't you say Christine?" he asked her.

"Yes." She said shortly.

Gilbert looked to her and said carefully and deliberately "Are we making ourselves crystal clear?"

To which Christine's eyes flicked from Anne back to Gilbert "Yes." She said quietly, she turned for the door and said quietly "Goodbye Anne, and Gilbert." The pair remained silent until the door shut to the apartment and the door to the stairwell could be heard outside the apartment opening.

Gilbert fully turned to Anne pulling her close to him his arms wrapping around her. "I can't believe I never saw it." He told her gently.

"Its okay, you were otherwise preoccupied." Anne said to him her own arms reaching round him her hands tucking in the back pockets of his jeans.

"I didn't know, I didn't know she was flirting until just now." He said to her.

"Gil, its okay." Anne assured him. "I can tell by your reactions you really had no idea."

He shivered slightly holding her tightly "I would never have flirted with her." Gilbert said quietly and he pulled back to look at her face "I would have been quicker in flirting with Josie in high school." He said with a grin to her.

"You did." Anne said with a laugh at his face "remember?" she said "the time you took her to watch the cheerleaders and get her to fundraise for the school band."

A look of recognition came to his face "I did, didn't I?!" he exclaimed to which Anne laughed.

"Hey did you know Josie got her College diploma she's going on to get her bachelors in psychology and physico while Charlie does his Phd?" Anne smiled.

"She did it huh? I knew that was the plan, Charlie was telling me the night we started talking again." He acknowledged.

"They are down on Riverside."

"The accommodation for couples?!" Gilbert exclaimed a little surprised at first. "Well they have been together a while now I suppose." He acknowledged. "Good on them." He added.

"Yes, that's what I thought." She smiled.

Gilbert looked to her "I am so lucky." He said softly.

"Lucky?" Anne asked looking at him.

"Yes, lucky." He nodded bringing her closer "that you are not a jealous creature."

"You'll never know then the _tortures as I've endured_! I was eaten up with jealousy of Christine. Well until I knew you weren't together."

Gilbert looked genuinely astonished. It had never occurred to him that Anne could be jealous of anybody. "Why, Anne! I never thought you had it in you."

"Oh, but I have. I doubt you'd remember those early days, I got terribly jealous of you cosying up with Josie."

"I never cosied up with Josie."

"I _thought_ you had." She emphasised.

"Well know this Anne, the only girl I ever wanted to cosy up with is you." He told her with a flirty bite of his bottom lip he looked up with lights in his eyes.

She smiled coyly whispering to him "I do love it when you flirt with me Gilbert Blythe." She sprung into a jump to land with her legs held in his arms. "Do it some more?" she flirted.

* * *

They pulled up in front of the Blake's home just in time for four o'clock as previously requested.

"Now remember," Anne said seriously to Gilbert as they got out the car "Phil is a married women now, she might not be the same old Phil as you remember."

Gilbert smiled taking her hand as they walked towards the door "From what I gathered from Jo she seemed not to have changed." He said to which Anne looked surprised "he came to visit me while I was down in the ward at Kingsport Hospital, he came every day."

Anne smiled and said quietly "Oh that's so typically him." She admitted "then hold on, did he not tell you that I wasn't with Roy, he knew, if Phil knew he did."

Gilbert smiled and knocked on the door "Funnily, you never came up love, it seems two men have more in common then the unusual taste in women they have." He said with a cheeky grin and a chuckle as she laughed.

The door swung open and a rather frazzled Phil appeared for a moment rushing a 'come in' before she disappeared again.

They stood surprised for a moment before Gilbert nodded and said "seems like the same old Philippa to me." He said to Anne which made her break into a chuckle. He brought his hand to the bottom of her back as the stepped forward into the house, where they entered Jo appeared at living room door.

"I think she means come in." Jo said with a grin on his face.

"I didn't think a take away could leave someone frazzled." Anne commented with a smile to Jo.

"Oh this isn't over a takeaway." Jo said.

"You don't mean to say she cooked!" Anne exclaimed to which Jo laughed.

"She's attempted." Jo said carefully shaking Gilbert's hand as he came in.

"Oh dear, well surely a cottage pie or a lasagne?" Anne asked Jo who shook his head.

"Or a Beef Wellington." Jo said with a knowing smile.

"But that's known for being difficult to make why would she start with that?!" Anne exclaimed.

"Because she is Phil." Jo smiled. "And I would settle for no less."

"How is she settling into her job?" Anne asked Jo.

"Very well, it seems the world of statics agrees with Phil." He said. "On my part I'm glad its for the government, its one of the top jobs in the city. Well paid and respected work." He looked at the pair and smiled widely. "So, Anne." He said looking at them he raised his eyebrows. "The last time I saw you, you were in a quite different state." He said with a smile to her.

She grinned as Gilbert and her sat his arm going around her, her hand going to his knee. " Yes, a very different state." She said quietly. She looked at Gilbert "I was quite distraught." She admitted.

Gilbert looked at Anne his lips played a smile.

"You know Gilbert she only had the sweetest things to say about you."

He nodded his bottom lip protruding "Ah so that's when you say nice things about me?" he teased "when I'm unconscious?" he said to which Jo laughed.

She was mocked offended holding her arms up "Did you not hear I was distraught!" she exclaimed.

"I'll be sure to mark it in my calendar." He said taking his phone out and bringing up the calendar as if he were to mark it.

"she was quite complimentary, Gilbert." Jo said with a smile to them both "she said you were the epitome of love."

Gilbert looked up, his mouth ajar for a moment "really?" Gilbert asked.

He received a nod from Jo to which he looked at Anne as Jo continued "that you were patient and kind, that you were humble and weren't easily provoked, that you saw the best in others that you were willing to endure many things in this world." Jo finished. "It was obvious she loved you very much."

Gilbert smiled and whispered in her ear "I try." He told her gently. He held her cheek and looked her in the eyes "I love you too." He told her sincerely, to which she nodded. Gilbert grinned at her before he said "You should know Jo, she may have over exaggerated my better qualities, I only ever wanted to be my best self around her, I'm afraid naturally I'm not quite so lovable." He said meekly.

"You should also know that Gilbert is far too humble for his own good." Phil said entering the room, with a smile on her face as she landed in Jo's arms.

"I've actually gathered that, a man of good humour and humility." Jo said with a look to him. "Have you finished preparing food?" Jo asked her.

"Well there's nothing I can do now for it." Phil said with a sense of defeat on her face "its dead already." She chuckled slightly before she looked over at Gilbert and Anne "and there's a sight I've longed to see." She said with a gentle smile to them. "I must admit Gilbert, I've never seen you look so at ease, so naturally happy before." She told him to which he started beaming his dimples showing in his cheeks "you suit it Gilbert." She said.

"I know, patience won the day." He said to her.

"and you Anne Shirley..." she started in a reprimand voice "suit him very well." She smiled. "I told him back in freshman year you belonged together."

"I know." Anne said with a grin to him. "I think we both knew it too." She said. "So Jo," Anne started "You're starting your final year in the seminary?" Anne asked.

Jo Smiled "I've been blessed to be the understudy of a Minister who regards me as an equal already." He said. "which is why I was so easily able to get into the hospital to see you Gilbert."

"Well I'm glad you came." Gilbert admitted "You have yourself a good man here Phil." Gilbert told her.

"Why does everyone find the need to tell me that." She fake pouted. "Would I fall for him if he were a bad man?" she sighed "does everyone think I'd choose someone awful to be with?" she asked.

"no never awful Phil," Gilbert said with a smile to her "but you chose someone very deep, spiritually, intellectually..." he said, "and I seem to remember you trying to choose between two men and one of them you didn't want to date because of his name!" Gilbert exclaimed.

"Wh-What?! Jo exclaimed in a chuckle. "Is this a side to you dearest Philippa I have yet to encounter."

"Oh poor Alex and Alonzo, we can not mock them!" Phil exclaimed. "they're both married now you know." She sighed "it seems I was destined for neither. She looked to Jo who looked intrigued "Well I couldn't marry an Alonzo could I?!" she huffed.

"That is why you wouldn't date him? Because of a name?" Jo asked.

"Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet?" Phil asked with a grin. "No that is the reason I gave for not wanting to date him." She said with a glare to the couple across from her. "These two were so wrapped up in each other first year, they dare not acknowledge that for the rest of us mere mortals the dating scene is just horrendous."

Anne smiled and said "Phil insisted on pretending to be something she is not when it came to dating back then," Anne said with a knowing smile "the first time I saw her she was checking out my boyfriend and his best friend, said that Gilbert was handsome and Charlie would be if it weren't for his eyes." To which they all laughed. "but then we got to know her, and I think she was looking at the shallow because if she liked them for such shallow reasons it lessened the chances of her getting hurt very deeply." Anne said looking to her.

Jo looked at Phil then back at Anne "Well I would have hated for my Phil to be hurt as deeply as you were Anne." He admitted "So I shall be glad that she liked for such shallow reasons and that it all came to naught, if it brought her safely to me."

"Here, here." Gilbert agreed taking Anne by the hand and kissing the back of her palm.

"Now where's my dinner?" Jo asked Phil with a grin on his face.

* * *

They sat down to the dinner where no one seemed to be eating much.

"I'm sorry about the beef and the wellington part." Phil said quietly.

"No no," Gilbert said looking at it again "I prefer my steaks, um..." he said not wanting to say it. "Blue."

"and the pastry is... well, you put plenty of butter in it." Anne said looking on the bright side. With that said the doorbell rang.

Jo jumped up and headed towards the door.

"Who's that?" Phil asked him.

"The Takeaway guy." He said.

"Oh thank god!" Phil exclaimed her elbow going on the table her hand covering her eyes, both Anne and Gilbert gave each other a grin in silent agreement.

* * *

Gilbert turned in his bed as he heard the buzzing of his phone for his morning alarm. He took a deep breath in sigh and reached for the phone sliding the alarm to snooze he fully intended on another ten minutes. It was then he saw the what's app icon to which he clicked on.

Ye old ball and chains: Hey Beautiful Man, I know you're still asleep right now and by the time you wake I'll probably be an hour into my journey back to Avonlea but I just wanted to tell you, you're going to be amazing today, go and wow them with just how wonderful you are. I'm counting the moments until I get to touch you again, but until then I guess video calls will have to do. Know I miss you when we're away from each other and I love you always x Love Anne x

He smiled at the message and pulled himself up to sit up in bed. He grinned as he typed "Thank you beautiful, the sentiment is returned love. BTW did you change your name on my phone to 'Ye old ball and chains?'

He stretched out his muscles ready for getting up and was able to quickly shower and headed down to the medical school facilities near the hospital. It was lunchtime before he had another look at his phone

Ye Old ball and chains: Well that's what I am now isn't it?

He physically laughed out loud as he read it before he looked around at the otherwise 'serious' classmates and he blushed into his sandwich. "There are many ways I would describe you my love but that is not one of them."

Ye Old ball and chains: 'well if you must change it to something can you make it more romantic then Anne please?' she wrote.

He rolled his eyes and wrote back "but I like your name."

Ye Old ball and chains: How about Lady Cordelia, or Princess Geraldine?

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "How about adored nimble nice enthralling girl?"

"?" she wrote back.

"Or how about an acronym of that?" he said with a smile.

"You're a bigger idiot then I thought." She wrote back.

"A-N-N-E girl, what a coincidence!" he chuckled as he wrote it.

"Are you seriously going to change it back to Anne?" she texted.

"Course I am, I love my Anne-girl." He confirmed. "Are you home yet?" he asked her before he changed her name on his phone to 'Anne-Girl xxx'

Anne-Girl xxx: about an hour ago I'm just heading back to the bookstore now.

Gil: Enjoy your first day.

He put his phone down beside him and smiled to himself. Being Anne Shirley's boyfriend was even better then _he_ imagined.


	41. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 5

"Hey beautiful." He said to her as the skype window opened for their evening video call.

"Hi Love." She said with a smile. "How was school?"

"Oh you know," he said with a shrug "I finally found the formula to not being asked all the questions by the doctors." He said with a smile.

Anne grinned, it had been three weeks since she last saw him in Kingsport and every night he complained he would be the one person every doctor picked on to give an answer. Anne had pointed out it was an excellent way to learn but Gilbert had prevailed it must have been something he was doing. "Oh?" she questioned him.

"I am now sitting in the middle row of the middle aisle." He told her.

"Surely that draws attention if you are doing it in every lecture?" she questioned him.

He seemly ignored her comment as he continued "I'm wearing my dark navy or grey t shirts and jumpers with my black, no blue jeans" he said with a smile.

Anne looked at him with a raised brow an unbelieving smile on her face.

"And under no circumstances am I making eye contact. I look up periodically look interested but then return my attention to my notes." He continued.

"Gilbert you aren't superstitious, what on earth makes you think this is working?" she questioned.

"The amount of questions I am answering on a daily bases has almost halved!" he told her.

"Could it not be because the Doctors have realised you know the answers and therefore only call on you when its a more difficult questions?"

"I'm telling you," he said with a laugh "its the clothes. Mark wore his red t-shirt the other day and every doctor asked him a question and he was sitting right next to me."

Anne smiled at his imagine on the screen and rolled her eyes "Well I suppose, whatever makes you more comfortable." She said to him.

"How's work?" he asked her as he started organising his evening, Anne saw he had put his laptop on his coffee table in the living room and had walked over to the freezer which he opened and took out a meal which had been sent in his weekly 'care packet' by his mother.

"Oh you know." She said with a shrug "Much like working in a bookstore should be, I made a 'best selling' rack today and suggested we have our favourites out on display too and maybe a little bit on why they are our favourites."

"Like a recommendations section?" he questioned, putting the meal in the microwave.

"Exactly." Anne said with a smile. "Andrew seems happy to just let me do what I want in there, its not really challenging." She admitted "but it is bringing an income in." She smiled. "Which of course I don't need much of, but its nice to have some savings."

"How about your novel?" he asked her, taking a glass and pressing his freezer for water and ice.

She sighed even heavier. "I don't know Gil," she said sitting back in her chair. "Maybe I wasn't meant to be an author after all." She said.

He look over and walked to the computer he sat on the floor in front of it and said "What did you just say?" he asked.

She sighed again and said "I get so far through and then it just sounds like a soppy trashy romance novel." She said quietly "then I remember Averil and I freeze, I literally stop and I can't write it anymore."

His arm rested on the table beside him as he gave a sigh "well," he said practically "I wouldn't give up all together." He admitted. "You _can_ write." He told her.

"You _have_ to say that, you're my _boyfriend_." She said.

"And when I wasn't I still thought it, Anne you _can_ write." He emphasised again. "I always thought you should write about Avonlea."

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow "Avonlea is the dearest place in the world, but its hardly a romantic setting." She objected.

"Then don't make it a romance." He suggested. "Cycle the characters so its not about any of them, but its about all of them. Yes have romance in it but make them a series of short stories." He grinned and added "Just be sure to change the names, we wouldn't want Mrs Lynde believing she's the heroine." To which he received a chuckle from Anne.

She looked at him and said "Do you really think I can?" she asked.

"I think you can be whatever you want to be Shirley." He told her with a grin. She nodded and gave a shy smile before her eyes lit. "You've just thought of a story, haven't you?" he asked her to which she nodded. "Then write it down." Gilbert grinned and she saw her hand moving to the computer, she was obviously opening a word document.

He opened his own browser and brought out his books. He took his meal out of the microwave and sat in front of the computer screen. In front of his browser in the top left hand corner was the imagine of Anne. He grinned at their arrangement. They Skyped every night he would sit as he was now she would sit much likes she was, and they would be there. It was almost as if the other was right there, comfortably sitting in the room with them, only he was in Kingsport and she was in Avonlea. He would open his browser and the little imagine of Anne would remain on his screen. Over the last couple of weeks she hadn't settled on the theme for her novel, it was only tonight she had finally said what the knack of it was. He looked at her, she couldn't know he was looking because she wasn't looking at him but he knew she likewise had a tiny window of him open at all times too. They'd just keep the window open, so they were there, sometimes they'd talk sometimes they wouldn't sometimes they would put a film on and watch it in the background together on Netflix and even once, they had fallen asleep with the window still open, they were only woken by Anne's alarm clock the next morning. Right now her eyes were just below the camera as she was looking at the screen but he could see she was typing away. He smiled at her happily. All those times they had spent together not touching, or hugging or kissing as they should be they were apart but together, now the tables had quite turned, they both wanted the hugs and the kisses, he sighed together but apart. In a way it was a cruel irony but he sighed as he opened his own books. At least both ways they were together.

* * *

Gilbert, himself phase in and out of attention. Today it had been hard to concentrate. Hardest because it was his birthday. He sighed heavily. No one here knew but him. He'd received a text message from Anne that morning.

Anne-Girl xxx: Happy Birthday my love! Your present should be with you this afternoon. I love you x.

And that was all he had received all day. Not that he was complaining. Just, he'd imagined it differently, never mind all the same he had to get through this day one way or another, he was moping and he knew it. The class was dismissed and he got up and instead of closing his book his remained open as he walked the now familiar corridor.

"Hey Blythe," One of his classmates called.

He looked up briefly to see the one other person who had been with him since the beginning of Redmond who had also got on the medical program. "Hey Joshua." He said before he returned to his books.

"Are you busy now?" Josh asked him "I was wanting to go over the notes for Doctor Willman's class." He told Gilbert as they opened the doors to outside which opened out onto a courtyard. Gilbert's head was still in his book otherwise he would have seen what Josh found so funny before Gilbert asked his friend. "Look up." Josh said with a grin as Gilbert looked up saw an unexpected vision in front of him.

Her feet were snug in a pair of black knee high boots under then you could see the black tights but was cut off by a mid thigh black skirt with a green jumper on underneath her black denim jacket and his lettermans jacket over the top, her hair was left loose down with a beanie hat and a scarf round her neck. He swallowed in surprise his mouth ajar for a moment before the book he was holding was tossed carelessly in the direction of Josh. His face broke into a smile as he rushed towards her "Anne." He said greeting her, his hand caressed her face momentarily before their lips met.

"Hello." She managed when he drew back for breath.

He chuckled in response before he kissed her again, it took a minute for him to draw back again and look at him in amazement. "what are you doing here?!" he exclaimed.

"It was your first birthday as a man with a girlfriend." She said sweetly. "Do you really think I'd leave you a lone man today?" she asked him before he kissed her again.

"Steady on Blythe." He heard from behind him. Gilbert pulled back and looked and smiled coyly as Josh addressed them "I can't tell you how surprised and relieved I was when Gilbert said you had got together over the summer." He said to Anne. "Its good to see you again Anne." He said to her.

"You too Josh, but you know you could have come and said hello, I would have welcomed the company." She told him.

He smiled and said "but I don't think it would be my company you were after. What brings you to Kingsport? Only to see this muggings?" he asked handing Gilbert back his book.

Anne laughed sweetly "That's quite enough of a reason if you ask me."

"I'll see if Mark has time to go over notes tonight then." He said with a smile "see you Monday Gil." He acknowledged as he walked away.

Gilbert turned back into Anne holding her close "I can't believe you're really here." He said to her softly.

"I love you." She said to him before they pulled away far enough to just slip their arms around each other as they walked. "Do you think Phil will mind if I call her and ask to stay there?" Anne asked.

"You haven't booked anywhere?" he asked her surprised.

"No, Andrew said he saw your mother who mentioned it was your birthday today, he said for me to take a day or two off and come and visit you. I drove down here today after I sent you that text message. He only told me two days ago I didn't have the chance to book" Anne told him.

"That's an awesome employer you have Anne." He said with a smile.

"I know." She said with a smile. "and here was I thinking it would give me plenty of time to write." She smiled.

He nodded "I'm sure Phil would enjoy your company but you are ignoring the obvious solution." He told her.

"Oh?" she asked surprised.

"You have a boyfriend with his own apartment." He said with a smile, to which she looked up at him surprised. "If you would like to stay with me?" he asked her.

"I'd love to." She smiled.

He smiled back "Lets go then." He said to her.

* * *

"Let me be a gentlemen?" he asked her taking her bag from her heading for the spare room.

"Oh?" she asked him looking confused.

"Oh?" he asked her looking at her for a moment before it registered. "I meant the spare room." He said to her gently "I wouldn't assume you'd want to bed with me." He stuttered.

Anne smiled and walked to him with a gentle chuckle and kissed his cheek in reassurance. "I hadn't thought of staying with you that's true." She admitted as she wrapped her arms around his neck, "But I think if I stayed with you, I would want to _stay_ with you." She said to him innocently.

He swallowed and took a breath "You want to stay in the same bed as me?." He said to her to which she laughed.

"You assume Mr Blythe that I wouldn't _want_ to _stay_ with you."

He took a breath and said to her gently "I don't want to rush you." He told her gently.

She looked up at him and told him "You aren't." She said to him. "I can't think of anything more natural then sharing my bed with you." She admitted. "Unless you don't want to?" she asked him.

"No, Anne!" he objected. He drew her close and held her close "I want you in my bed." He told her straight, his feet carrying him to his bedroom door with her bags in hand he put them in his room. "I've wanted you here for such a long time, I can't tell you what it meant to me that night..." he said with a sweet smile.

" _That_ was an accident." She said as she stroked his shirt coming close to him in the bedroom doorway "though the best kind of accident." She admitted.

" ** _The_** best!" he repeated to which she giggled her arms going around his neck. "So, you're okay to share a bed with me?" he asked her.

"Yeah." She admitted "I think you are probably the one person in the world I can feel safe with." She said then she said "I've always been safe with you." She said with a bottom lip bitten.

He looked at her his eyes went wide his mouth dropped "Always?" he asked her.

"Yeah." She said a smile breaking across her face.

"What about carrots?" he asked her.

"You were just..." she wrapped him closer his hands now going around her waist. "eager to meet me."

A grin broke on his face as he laughed and he momentarily looked away, where he proclaimed "You brought presents?!"

"You didn't think I was your present did you?" she asked him sitting on the sofa watching as his face lit up at the sight. "Now some of these are from your mother too, oh and she said to bring you a supplementary care package 'while I was here' she said pointing in the direction of the kitchen.

Gilbert smiled "You can help me eat some if you like she always packs so much I can't eat it on my own." He said with a grin "I have four days worth of food at least in the freezer." He said with a grin.

"She misses you Gil." Anne said to him quietly. "she thinks literal nurturing will help." She giggled slightly "she invites me over at least twice a week you know."

"Good." Gilbert said honestly. "Now." He said turning the attention back to him "give me my presents!" he exclaimed.

She laughed as he seemed to bounce on the cheeks of his behind, his smile wide like a child.

"Okay." Anne smiled "which one first?" she asked him

He bit his bottom lip looking round and picking out a large bag. She smiled "This one is from me." She smiled.

He pulled out a hooded bomber leather jacket which was lined with fleece ready for the winter. Gilbert's eyes went wide as he looked at it in amazement "Anne!" he exclaimed "You didn't need to buy me this!"

Anne smiled at his reaction. "You never were spoilt were you Gilbert." She told him softly.

"I don't need spoiling." He told her "Anne..." he trailed looking at her.

"I thought it would look good on you." She told him with a grin "keep you warm during winter months it moves in fast." She told him. "I saw it and thought you must have it."

"But Anne, it looks expensive." He objected.

"Well count it as your birthday presents for the past couple of years too, I missed your birthdays."

He moved on his knees and knelt in front of her "Thank you." He said with a sweet smile and a kiss to her. "I'll wear it every day." He proclaimed.

He opened all the other presents happily his face quite content at the end of it. They sat on the snuggle chair Gilbert sitting on it, Anne curled up around him her head resting in his chest listening to his heartbeat her arms around him, his arms around her relaxing for the first time in weeks.

"This is the life." He proclaimed. "its almost perfect." He said quietly.

"Almost?" Anne asked him looking up.

He chuckled before he said quietly "Home is where the heart is," he quoted "and though my heart is always with you, this apartment, as nice as it is to live in, it isn't a home." He said quietly.

She smiled and said "still dreaming of that hearth fire?" she questioned.

He sighed happily "this is all too clinical." He said with a grin.

"You're going to be a doctor Gilbert." Anne teased. "Clinical is good."

"Yes." He agreed "for a hospital, but I like the feeling of home." He said softly, she looked at him and almost saw the unspoken dream play out in his eyes.

"We'll be sure to get there." She replied to him softly kissing his lips likewise. "In the meantime we mustn't kick a gift horse in the mouth." She said looking around to which he chuckled.

"No." He agreed "we must not. I really am very grateful. The boys say the dorms for the medical school are not as nice as the ones we were accustom to." He said with a grin to Anne. "paper thin walls and a draft." He said.

"Are you not tempted to have one of them as a roommate?" she asked him, he looked at her with his best doubtful look. "I think it must be an only child thing, you know at home I had my very own space, my own bathroom my own space, I could never really share it with someone unless I was really close to them."

She grinned and held him tighter "You shared them with me." She said innocently.

"I always wanted you around." He said. "See I was really being quite selfish." He said with a grin to her.

"Riiiiiggggghhhht." She laughed. "Well I'm glad you're a little selfish then."

"Anne?" he asked her a few moments later.

"Yeah?" she replied.

"Did you bring birthday cake?"


	42. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 6

**I know I am late this week and honestly this will be the upload which should be on Tuesday... But I do have updates to this Loving you forever and secret delight, so hopefully that will make up for it.**

 **love Carrots x**

* * *

Gilbert stirred in the early morning hours, staying in his position which he had been laying in all night his arm groggily reaching across in the bed, excepting the smooth flat sheets beside him, instead he found himself still half asleep, unable to wake himself from his dream. In it, under arm and hand lay a girl, her hair lay over her shoulder in a loose ponytail the ends of which he could feel tucked into his hand. Her form was small her delicate features as dreamlike as she was, he let out a contented sigh and held her a little closer in his arms. She lay across him, her tiny frame barely making an imprint on his weight. He found her, tucked into his legs her back to his body she lay soundly asleep there. Her scent was what was confusing him. His dreams didn't include that scent, although in his semi conscious state he wasn't complaining, it was almost as if she was here with him

In his dreamlike state he imagined it for a moment, what it would be like to fully wake with her in his arms and his hips involuntarily popped up squeezing the imaginary object for a moment. He let out a small satisfied puff of air before he wrapped his arms tighter round her.

As he started to become more aware he thought it odd the object which carried a small weight over him wasn't dissipating with the dream. But he knew it was impossible that it was her. She was in Avonlea, wasn't she?

His hips made the movement again and where the feeling was satisfying he was also cursing himself, she firstly wasn't real but if she were real, he would never assume he could do this, she's been abused like this before, he would **not** become privy to such behaviours. Anne was a lady and deserved to be treated as such, but as he become more aware of his surroundings his mind cast back to the previous day. He smiled at the memory of his birthday, for she had been there.

Yes, definitely had been there and had bought him a jacket he remembered, Hi she'd stayed in the apartment with him, and had jacket the care package from his mother, the cake which they had half eaten between them the night before and in their sugar rush they had a pillow fight.

His eyes shot open, his eyes looked wide to the sleeping object in his arms.

It **was** Anne.

His memory foggy for a moment it took him a few seconds to realise how she had come to Kingsport the day before she had agreed to sleep in his bed, he remembered getting ready for bed in the bathroom his t-shirt and his boxes. She had readied in the bedroom she had slept in a tank top and pj bottoms her hair had been done in a loose ponytail. He had taken the tip of it his fingers slid through it gently and with a grin called her 'carrots' again, he smiled.

He swallowed hard and took a couple of deep breaths trying to relax his body enough for it to calm down. Failing completely he lay as still as he could pivoting his hips the best he could away from her without waking her again failing. She opened her eyes which were glimmering green he looked at her as she looked up at her, he found despite his current predicament he couldn't take his eyes off her.

"Hey." She whispered, turning on the bed reaching to the bedside table as she reached he brought his legs round her separating his pelvis from her.

She looked on her phone and made a decisive 'hphm' sound hugging lying with her back to him "Too early." She complained. Lying still a moment, she quickly turned to face him without opening her eyes she looked annoyed. "Hug." She demanded.

He chuckled turning on his side to face her "You don't want me to do that." He whispered to her.

She cracked open one eye and looked at him "why?" she asked him.

He pulled her a little closer careful of his movements where he whispered in her ear what was wrong turning a shade of pink. He pulled back and looked at her with a worried expression.

Anne smiled softly and whispered "You have nothing to be ashamed of."

"But given your experiences..." he said equally as softly back.

Anne let out a sigh "Oh Gil..." she started "please love, don't let him delay our relationship anymore then he already did." She whispered shuffling closer "You know I realised after I told you, I realised by delaying and denying my feelings for you, yes I was protecting myself but I was also _giving_ him so much control and _power_ in my life." She admitted. "There will be parts of our relationship we will need to play by ear because of it..." she said wrapping her arms around his neck. "But there will be delights..." she said bringing herself closer again "which I want..." she said now pressed against him "to- share- with- you." She finished careful to separate each word carefully.

"We've only just been together for two months." He said to her with a worried expression "and a good part of that we've been apart."

"We should have been dating for at least two years." She said firmly kissing him momentarily where she felt the reason for the conversation. "Oh!" she exclaimed with pink cheeks and fluttering eyelashes "Are you pleased to see me Mr Blythe?" she asked as innocently as she could before she burst into giggles with him. She smiled as they reshuffled themselves on the bed.

"Are you sure you're comfortable with this?" he asked her gently.

She kissed him firmly for a few moments before she broke the kiss to smile with him. "You're not forcing, I _voluntarily_ put myself here." She grinned. "I'll tell you if I'm uncomfortable." She said with a smile to him. She found the bedcovers going over their heads as they cuddled closer. "How does it feel?" she asked him as he looked confused "Being 23, how does it feel being 23?" she asked him.

He grinned, his dimples showing his eyes brightening "I must admit I like it so far." He grinned as she chuckled burying her head in his chest.

"You flirt!" she teased him as she relaxed her front now snuggling into his side, she could feel his strong arms hold her safely. He smiled as she stayed there in his arms,

"How long can you stay for?" he asked her.

"I can stay all weekend, Andrew has given me the day off on Monday," she told him "as long as I leave by 3pm on Monday I'll be fine." She said sighing contently.

"Two more mornings I get to wake with you in my arms?" he asked her before she giggled in his arms "lucky me." He commented. "This is the best birthday ever!"

* * *

Two hours later Gilbert walked into the living area with nothing but a towel around his waist his skin still wet his hair in wet curls Anne looked shocked at him as he walked through "Gil!" she exclaimed.

"what?" he asked confused. "Don't you want to see me...?"

"Yes I do!" She exclaimed "but do you want the rest of the world seeing..."

"Anne..." he started shaking his head.

"I mean you have open windows out there!" she said her hand flying in the direction of the window.

"Its a one way window." He said before she looked at him her mouth opening and closing in confusion "We can see out, no one can see in."

She was silent for a few moments before she looked out then looked at Gilbert "No one can see in?" she asked him, to which he chuckled taking the cuddle seat behind her she turned her arms on his knees she looked up at him.

"Did you really suppose I would walk around here like this if people could see in?" he asked.

"You don't have anything to be ashamed of." She said with a grin as she looked up in his eyes.

"Oh?" he asked.

"Shut up!" Anne said playfully slapping on the towel across his knees "You know you're hot!"

He smiled widely before with slightly pink cheeks "You think I'm hot?" he asked her.

Her face fell for a moment before she spoke softly "The hottest!" she said with a giggle.

He blushed further his bottom lip protruded. "How's your book coming?" he asked her.

"Good," she said with a nod to the screen, "Its less of a novel more of a collection of short stories." She said looking at it. "You know I took your advice, and I've written the little stories of Avonlea." She looked up at him "and it's written itself." She admitted. "I keep editing, keep adding and taking away." She said, "but I like it, its mine." She admitted. "I suppose you always brought the best out in me." She said with a smile to him which made him smile even more.

"Just remember," he said practically, "no matter what you do, when you take it to a publisher there will be more and heavy editing."

She sighed in acknowledgement "I know I know," she replied equally practically. "Its just every time I edit I feel as though I'm editing part of my soul!"

He smiled "To refine you, its only when you go deeper in the earth, do you find diamonds rather then coal." He said to her with a kiss on her head. "I better get dressed." He said standing up and walking towards the bedroom.

"Are you sure no one can see in?" she asked.

"Positive." He replied.

"Drop the towel. If you're so sure." She said flirting.

"Don't tempt me." He said as he walked into the bedroom.

She smiled as the door closed behind him before her attention went back to her laptop.

* * *

A few hours later there was a knock on the door of Gilbert's apartment. Anne looked to him confused before she said "are you expecting someone?" she asked Gilbert.

"No." He said honestly confused before he went to the door and opened it to find an old friend there "Charlie!" he exclaimed.

"Hey Gil." He said with a half smile to him. "Would you mind if I came in?" he asked.

"Um, sure." Gilbert said with a confused look on his face. "Not that I'm not glad to see you," Gilbert said standing aside letting Charlie in "but what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Josie and I..." he started before he saw Anne sitting on the floor at her laptop "Oh, I didn't know Anne was here." He said surprised.

"Yesterday was my birthday." Gilbert said "Anne came as a surprise."

"Oh." Charlie said in a daze he was obviously still confused.

"Charlie are you okay?" Anne asked him.

He shook his head and burst into tears. Gilbert looked to his friend shocked as Anne jumped up and put an arm around him and gingerly guided him to the sofa to sit down, Gilbert in the meantime went into his kitchen and got him a drink of water. Anne closed her laptop lid and they sat on the cuddle chair together.

Charlie calmed after a minute before he said "Josie broke up with me." He said in a dead quiet voice.

Anne looked to Gilbert in shock where she could see Gilbert swallowed. "How do you mean broke up?" he asked.

"What do you mean, how do I mean?!" He exclaimed. "We're finished!" He said dramatically.

Anne could feel Gilbert taking a deep breath in to calm himself so she spoke "We're trying to understand how it happened Charlie." Anne said softly "you always seemed so happy together. Maybe if you can tell us what happened we might understand more your predicament."

"She claims I cheated on her!" Charlie exclaimed jumping off the sofa to pace the back of the chair "I mean me?!" he exclaimed "there are _many_ things I know are _irritating_ about me, I'm not the easiest person in the world, I know its in built, but I would not **_cheat_**!" he exclaimed, he stopped as if waiting for the pair to respond, "you're not annoying Charlie we love you Charlie!" he sarcastically threw at the pair.

Gilbert rolled his eyes before he said "you can't admit to your own personality flaws and expect others to disagree Charles." Gilbert said with a slight growl in his voice. Anne looked to Gilbert amused for a moment before she jumped in with,

"What we do know Charlie, is that despite any character flaws, it would be out of character for you to cheat." Anne admitted.

"Thanks." He said to Anne, before he picked up a puck from the tableside something which Gilbert almost jumped up at only Anne's hand on his knee kept him there, it was Gilbert's signed puck from Bernie Geoffrion, Gilbert's face dropped further as Charlie started throwing it in the air and catching it as he walked. "I went out last night with some friends as you do you understand it was a friends stag do." He said looking at Anne and Gilbert, Anne looked apprehensive of his story while Gilbert looked on edge "there's no need to look like that Gilbert, no doubt if you ever marry you'll have one," he said to Gilbert to which Gilbert didn't look away but his eyes were steadily on the puck. "So anyway, we only went to a strip club for a while..."

"Oh Charlie!" Anne exclaimed.

"I didn't watch!" He defended "I went out for a convenient dart."

"but you don't smoke?" Anne questioned.

"I was saying it to get out of it!" Charlie exclaimed his throwing becoming more and more erratic, Gilbert's face concentrated solely on the puck. "I did it so I wouldn't be seen to be cheating on her!" he exclaimed "and what do I get as a reward? The punishment as if I had cheated!"

Gilbert stood then and walked across to Charlie "where is Josie's evidence?" Gilbert asked taking the puck from him mid-air and holding it in his hands, which made Anne smile.

"She said if I was there I was cheating, she doesn't need the evidence."

"And how does she know you were there?" Anne asked as Gilbert quietly slid the puck back on the table.

Charlie swallowed before he said quietly "I may have been tagged on Facebook." Gilbert rolled his eyes before he sat down next to Anne. "I swear I didn't even see a dance."

Anne sighed and asked "Could you not have told her where you were going? She might have felt you were trying to hide what you were doing?"

"Since when are you the relationship expert?!" he snapped at Anne.

"Hey back off!" Gilbert said springing to his feet once again. "You don't talk to her like that." He stated looking his friend in the eye before Charlie snapped out of it.

"Quite right." He said quietly. "Sorry Anne." He said looking at her apologetically.

Anne sighed for a moment as Charlie and Gilbert sat down she looked to Charlie and said to him "I could go and see her if you like, I could talk to her and see if I can get her to see..."

"You could try." Charlie tried with a heavy swallow.

* * *

"Don't try to change my mind Anne!" Josie squealed at a high pitch. "My mind is made up." She said crossing her arms. "Charlie Sloane is a cheater!" she exclaimed.

Anne tried to adjust her hearing to Josie's voice in its current state. "I'm not taking Charlie's side Josie." Anne stated, "I just want to know it from your point of view." She tried.

"He has been cheating for weeks! This isn't the first occasion!" she exclaimed.

Anne looked to her shocked, "what you mean you have proof of it?" Anne asked.

"Enough." Josie huffed. "I see him text other girls and he meets with other girls and now this!"

"That's your proof?" Anne asked, "Josie this isn't the 19th century he can have female friends..." Anne started.

"How would you feel if it was Gil!" Josie exclaimed. Anne sighed and stopped for a moment before Josie said to her "I'm sorry Anne that was uncalled for." She said quietly.

Anne didn't speak for a few moment then she said quietly "I know what it is to be cheated on Josie." She admitted to her.

Josie looked up her mouth hung opened "Roy?!" she exclaimed in shock. "He cheated on you?!"

"Several times that I'm aware of," Anne said quietly. "And I had more evidence then a text or a call or an e-mail." Anne said quietly. "People knew, I knew they 'collected' the evidence in the hope it would be enough to get me out." Anne told her before she looked up "truth was I was so broken at the time, it didn't matter anymore." She told her. "as for the strip club and Charlie..." Anne continued turning the conversation back on itself "It wasn't his smartest move in the world, and of course its your relationship to define the boundaries within it." Anne said carefully. "I'm here to clarify what happened if anything." She said looking to Josie. "You've been together a long time." She acknowledged.

"Yeah we have." Josie said. "I don't know what I'm going to do." Josie told her honestly. "I just need time to think." Josie told her.

Anne smiled at Josie "then that is what you'll get."

* * *

"I can't believe you're asking this of me!" Gilbert whined to her.

"Would you see Charlie without anywhere to live?" Anne asked him.

"No but..." he started.

"Your best friend for years!" Anne emphasised.

"Yes but..." Gilbert tried again.

"It wouldn't be forever." Anne continued.

"Anne, he is Charlie." Gilbert pleaded, "you don't understand he would take over."

Anne sighed and looked at him wide eyed "just for a little while, until student housing can find him somewhere or they make up, whichever comes first."

Gilbert took a heavy sign then after a few seconds said "I'm not going to win this one am I?" he asked.

"You know its the right thing to do." Anne said with a little smile playing at her lips "so in a way haven't you already won?"

He took a deeper sigh "I hate it when you're right."

Anne grinned fully and retorted "No love, you love it when I'm right."

He chuckled and brought her into his arms holding her again to him "I do, its true, I can't help it."


	43. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 7

"Good afternoon sunshine!" Charlie exclaimed to Gilbert as Gilbert left his bedroom walking into the lounge area.

Gilbert practically jumped out of his skin. It was the day after Anne returned to Avonlea, so it was the first morning he had woke with Charlie there and without her support.

"Gesh Charles!" he exclaimed. "what the hell, you trying to give me a heart attack?" he asked him.

"Sorry friend, I was just teasing." Charlie said with a smile. "But you ought to be getting up earlier then this Gilbert." He said looking at the clock which read half past seven.

"My first class is eight Charles." Gilbert said grouchily. "I don't need to be up any earlier."

"You should train now for your doctor days."

"I should get all my sleep in now so I won't be shattered come my doctor days." Gilbert said opening his fridge. He looked confused for a moment. "Where are the eggs?" he asked not meaning to ask Charlie directly "and why is the bread in the fridge?"

"I've been up since five I decided to reorganise." Charlie said with an spring in his step. "You see you shouldn't keep your eggs in the fridge, it doesn't actually keep them fresher because we're opening and closing the door all the time and the bread keeps fresher in the fridge."

Gilbert looked at him blankly trying his best to be patient with him. He bit his tongue with a stern and tired face got his hot drinks travel mug on with 'worlds best boyfriend' on it he turned on the kettle in hope that a cup of tea would lighten his mood. He opened the cupboard to find five types of coffee on the shelf and he couldn't find any of his favourite teas.

"Where is my full breakfast tea?" he asked Charlie.

"Oh erm, well I figured all teas are the same." Charlie admitted. "So well, I kept the normal one and the rest..." he looked over to the bins where Gilbert's face dropped.

Gilbert took a deep breath and with a muttered "Never mind." He took his travel mug picked up his leather jacket and went to the stairs "try not to change the locks while I'm gone." He said pluckily, before he closed the door behind him.

Gilbert was walking down the stairs when his phone started to ring. He looked to see Anne-Girl he took a sigh of relief answering it with a video call. "I must really _really_ love you." He said to her.

"Oh dear, he's done something already?" Anne asked him.

"He moved the bread into the fridge and the eggs out of the fridge." He said looking at her seriously. "Everyone knows not to put bread in the fridge it dries it out faster because the bread crystallises in the cold faster making it dryer." He huffed "and eggs are meant to be kept in the fridge." He continued without waiting for an answer "I don't keep them in the door I keep them on the shelves meaning the argument that opening and closing the door making the temperature of the fluctuate is invalid because they are in the shelf at the back at the most constant temperature in the fridge!" He could see Anne's lips playing a smile "don't laugh at me Anne Shirley!" he told her.

"I'm not laughing," she said with a giggle "You're adorable when you're angry." She said with a grin.

"And don't get me started on my tea!" he exclaimed.

"Pardon me?" Anne asked "Your tea?"

"Yes, my tea." He said waving his cup in front of the screen. "He threw out all my tea Anne, all of it but one plain brand, all my earl grey all my peppermint all my all day breakfast and my green tea, all of it gone!" He exclaimed "and replaced with like ten different varieties of coffee!" he said "and he replaced them saying all 'teas' were the same!" Gilbert exclaimed "well I ask you!? At least mine tastes of something other then coffee!" He said finally at the bottom of the stairs he was seen by Anne walking through the lobby.

"Morning Mr Blythe." The security officer said.

"Morning." He managed to grunt. "Now, I have to go and get tea from the coffee place on campus, adding five minutes to my day because he can't stop himself!"

Anne looked at him sympathetically. "Its only for a little while Gilbert, Student services are usually quick to rehouse students and that's only if he and Josie don't make up first."

He took a deep sigh and looked at her "Anne." He whispered rather desperately, "I don't like this, he's in my stuff and my head."

"I know." Anne said gently. "remember deep breaths." She asked him. "So, how many times did you call him Charles?" Anne asked him. Gilbert looked at her confused before she continued, "In high school, I noticed you tended to call him 'Charlie' like the rest of us, but when you got frustrated or angry with him you'd call him Charles." Anne said with a grin "I liked it actually, I definitely knew when Charlie overstepped some invisible mark with you, you could count on it every time."

Gilbert looked at her and said "do you know all my secrets?" he asked her with a teasing smile.

"I hope to one day." She said with a smile.

He took a deep breath and said to her "I'm sorry sweetheart," he said affectionately. "I should be wishing you a good day and all you're hearing about is Charlie." He acknowledged.

"Well I'm back in work this morning after spending a glorious weekend with you, curled up and cuddling."

"Even if the mood was ruined by Charles." Gilbert grunted.

Anne smiled sweetly and gently said "You know you really suit that jacket." She said with a admirable look on her face.

"Well the buyer has excellent taste." He said with a grin.

"It fits in all the right places." She flirted.

"Oh?" he asked with a smile.

"Have a nice day love." She said to him as she blew a kiss at the screen.

"I love you too." He said with a smile looking at her imagine. "Bye."

* * *

A couple of weeks later Gilbert was sitting on his bed cross legged with his books surrounding him. Charlie was in the living room playing on his PlayStation he had brought with him, Gilbert didn't care, he had Anne on the screen of his bedroom TV casted from his laptop they were working again in silence but together when Gilbert heard int he background a knock on the door, with a paused screen and sound heard from the living room he heard the door being opened and Charlie called.

"Gil, a package for you!"

Gilbert looked confused for a moment looking up "I'm not expecting anything?" he questioned.

Anne smiled and said to him gently " well go and see what it is then!" she exclaimed to him. He went from view for a few seconds only to reappear with a box in his hands.

"Okay?" he questioned looking at it he reached in his pocket and pulled out his penknife before he opened it, a note lay on top he recognised as Anne's handwriting. "Love?" he said looking at her confused.

Anne smiled "Oh Good, I was hoping to see this!" she exclaimed as she saw him looking confused as he opened the letter.

 _"'Dearest Gilbert, I was hoping this would look good on that huge bedside table of yours on the left hand side of the bed and its a satisfactory replacement of your privacy'?"_ he gave her a confused look as he pulled out another box he gasped "Its a coffee and tea maker!" he exclaimed.

"I just thought you might like the ability to make some fresh tea every morning." She said with a smile. "You could keep your milk in your mini fridge from our salad days bring the sweeteners into the bedroom so and keep these little pods of tea away from him." She said with a smile as he pulled out several boxes of different flavours of tea. "and I hope I have your permission to use it when I'm there." She said with a grin.

"Anne!" he exclaimed. "Its beautiful!" he said a smile at his lips as he opened the box. "I'm going to use it right now!"

Anne grinned as she heard the conversation in the background between Charlie and Gilbert.

"What was in the package?" Charlie asked him.

"Just something from Anne." Gilbert admitted getting a jug and putting water in it.

"Oh?" Charlie was heard.

Anne bit her bottom lip wondering what Charlie would think she would send through the post to Gilbert. Instead of words Gilbert's footsteps could be heard coming back into the room. Gilbert appeared with his cup, water and milk. Anne watched as he opened the box with the equipment in.

"shouldn't you be studying?" Anne asked him.

"No, this is more important" he told her, as he pulled out the tea and coffee maker looking happy with it. "No tea is driving me crazy!" he admitted as he reached tot he top of the bookshelf pulling down his thermos. "If I have one of these I need this for hot tea, all day long!" he said with a smile. "You know you don't have to buy me expensive stuff to keep me happy?" he told her.

"No." She admitted with a smile "but it really helps." She said to him.

With that there was another knock at the door, the sound of the PlayStation had started up again in the other room so it was no great surprise when Charlie called through "I'm in the middle of this can you get that Gil?" he asked of Gilbert. Anne could see Gilbert go off screen and heard the click of the door

"Hello Gil." A female voice said.

"Um Charlie." Gilbert said looking at the girl then said "I think this one is for you."

Anne could hear the stopping of the PlayStation and Gilbert appeared on the screen. "You might want to stick around." He whispered to Anne.

"Who was it Gil?" Anne asked him.

"Josie."

* * *

Charlie looked to the girl standing in front of him, unusually silent.

"You came to Gilbert." Josie stated.

"He's a good friend, a good man to let me intrude." Charlie said to her.

"I know he is." Josie admitted.

"Well then, where else was I to go?" Charlie asked her. "You threw me out."

"I thought you had cheated on my Charlie, what else was I suppose to do?" she asked him.

"Thought?" he questioned. "So you admit you were wrong?" he asked her.

Josie took a sigh and said quietly "I saw Marcus off campus yesterday and although he wasn't suppose to he took a film of him with the, girls, well of everyone with the girls actually, he showed me the footage pointing out you weren't there, that you had in fact stepped outside and were there the entire time they were in the strip club." She admitted sitting down on the edge of the sofa. He sat tentively at the other side of the sofa far away from her.

"I told you I had been." He reiterated.

"What was I meant to think Charlie? I mean really? What if that had been me?" she asked him.

He looked at her a little taken aback for a moment before he said quietly "I maybe should have thought before going there, I mean on the stag do." He took a breath and said "I'm a great many things Josie, I annoy people in little ways which can really grate on them, I can offend without meaning, heaven knows what I've done to Gilbert."

"You've annoyed him no end." Josie said plainly to him.

"But I don't annoy you, or at least you put up with it." He said to her. He sat quietly for a moment before he continued "why do you not trust me?" he asked her.

"I get jealous." She admitted, clearly annoyed with herself.

Charlie took a deep breath and said quietly "its why you said yes to me back in high school wasn't it?" he asked her "you were jealous of Anne so thought you'd show him by..."

"Yes." She admitted quietly "but it turns out you were kind of terrific,well until I got jealous."

"It wasn't just the strip club though was it Josie?" Charlie asked her."I mean you must have thought I might cheat on you so what put the thought into your head?"

Josie was heard to sigh before she said to him "you tell me when other girls are hot, but you don't tell me I am and then you get these texts from girls..." she continued.

"On my course, we're in study groups together."

"but they aren't ugly are they Charlie?!" she exclaimed.

He looked at her seriously for a moment before he gasped "Oh my god! Josie!" he exclaimed "don't you get it." He said moving closer to her on the sofa. "You're hotter then them all!" he told her. "I can't help it of girls are attractive just like you can't help it when men are, its just how it is! But you're hotter!" he said with a smile as he took her hands. "You're hotter then them all!"

They heard her chuckle for a moment before she took a sigh "where do we go from here?" she asked him.

He took a breath and said "Actually there is something you should know." He told her.

"Oh?" she asked him.

He took several deep breaths before he said "I don't want to do a PhD." He admitted to her apparent shock. "I only wanted to stay on so that we could live together." He said to her. She looked at him shocked as he continued "when you said you had the credits to come to university to get your degree and you were looking to stay for your masters to become a physical therapist. I was looking for a reason to stay so we could take these steps together." He said to her.

There was a silence for a moment before Josie spoke "Why didn't you say anything?" she asked him.  
"You have all these grand plans!" he exclaimed "You're BScPT and MPT, you had all these plans and all I had was a maths degree! No plans no future so I hoped I could build one..."

Josie looked at him for a moment before she said "What will you do instead?" she asked him.

"Go home and run business with my dad." He said. "Just as they always wanted." He said to her. "I'm not asking you to come back, I know you want the physical therapy degree and so you should." He said "and one day you'll be working with Gilbert in a fantastic hospital somewhere and I wanted to forge that life together now!" he said.

There was silence between the pair before Josie said "we moved too fast." She said to him. "we moved in we were putting pressure on each other to be exclusively ours and we messed it up." Josie said. "I can't leave my course." She said to him

"I know." Charlie said.

"So?" She asked "where does it leave us?" she asked him.

"we could do long distance again?" Charlie suggested. "Like Anne and Gilbert."

Josie took a heavy sigh. "You'll be in Avonlea with Anne and I'll be here with Gilbert." Josie said with an ironic laugh.

"Are we together again then?" Charlie asked her.

"I don't know." Josie admitted. "Lets just, take it slow and see where this will lead." she told him. She looked around and said to Charlie "its a nice place Gilbert has here." she said to him.

"It is." Charlie agreed.

"You need to move out." Josie told him.

"No I don't." he demanded.

"Yeah, you do." she insisted.

"Yeah I do." Charlie said nodding his head. "Not least because it would be one hell of a commute every morning." which made Josie laugh. "I'll get myself prepared over the next couple of weeks, make sure I still have a job back home, and gradually move out."


	44. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 8

"Are you sure you'll be okay driving in this?" Mrs Blythe asked Anne. "You really don't need to go and get Gilbert."

Anne smiled "I'm in the four by four, he'll never make it back in the mini in this weather." Anne said to her. "The snow is too deep and set in for the mini to make it and I know Gilbert wants to be back for Christmas."

"What does Andrew say? Your employed by him." Mrs Blythe checked.

"I already had Monday and Tuesday off next week to spend time with Gilbert and Friday's are always quiet in the bookstore he often tells me not to come in and have the day "on him." Anne continued "He said tomorrow would be no different."

Mrs Blythe looked at Anne "Even if you leave now it'll be past ten by the time you get there."

"Which makes it even more important I go now." Anne said with a smile.

"Well, if you will be determined..." she said "here is some tea," she told Anne, "it should keep you warm if you get stuck anywhere."

Anne smiled fondly hugging Mrs Blythe "Once I'm on the highway it'll be easy." She assured her "the hard work will be getting out of Avonlea." she said before she whispered "I'll bring him safely home tomorrow."

* * *

"I was starting to worry." Gilbert said with a grin as she pulled up in the secure carpark under his building. "10:30" he said with a shake of the head.

Anne rolled her eyes landing in his arms. "It was a nightmare all the way to the highway." Anne said pulling him down for a kiss, he was surprised for a moment before he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. They pulled back breathless and they smiled at each other.

"Hello." He said with pink cheeks.

"Hello." She replied kissing him quickly again. She reached into the four by four retrieving the overnight bag she had. He smiled as she tucked into his side as they walked quietly towards the elevator.

"Luckily no one else has came in or our since I came down here." He told her the doors to the elevator opening. They stepped inside and he put his key in for his floor. The doors closed behind them she pulled him to her, with no objections their lips met, Gilbert stepped closer and their arms found each other. "I've missed you." He whispered huskily to her.

"I've missed you too." She said with a smile before they kissed again. Before they knew it the elevator 'dinged' his floor he looked confused for a moment before he admitted "we were not kissing that long." He said with a grin to her, to which she simply smiled. "Hungry?" he asked her.

"Oh please yes!" she exclaimed.

"Good I'll order a pizza." He smiled "I thought we could junk food ourselves to sleep."

"Sounds perfect." Anne said with a smile as they flopped onto the sofa. She smiled her eyebrows quirking "can you hear that?" She asked him.

"What?" he asked her.

"Exactly." She said with a grin. "Its so quiet." She said her eyes momentarily closing "Don't you ever get lonely?" she asked him.

"Sometimes." He admitted "but then I just think of Charlie and I suddenly don't feel so alone." He said with a chuckle as she laughed with him.

"Oh Charlie!" she exclaimed.

"How is he?" Gilbert asked her.

"He's okay, I think." Anne admitted "I think he was just too out of his depth here." She told Gilbert. "He's become the accountant we'd all knew he would be." Anne smiled opening her eyes she looked at Gilbert "He came into the book store for a book he had ordered the other week." She admitted, "He and Josie are very on and off nowadays." She said sadly. "I don't think it was his choice."

Gilbert sighed his brows raised for a moment before he said "well that is too bad really." He said quietly.

"Its a shame, they were together for a long time." Anne said quietly.

"They could still work it out." Gilbert suggested.

"Maybe." She smiled, she looked over to the kitchen "where's your coffee and tea machine?" she asked.

Gilbert smiled "Still in the bedroom," he said to her "although once Charlie was gone it would make sense to put it in the kitchen." He said with a smile "but the temptation of having a tea waiting for me with a flick of a switch in a morning..." he said with a grin.

"Sounds blissful." She acknowledged.

"You'll know in the morning." He said with a grin, "Hey do you fancy a walk? We can go and pick up the pizza."

"Good plan." She said as he stood up she put her hand out and he helped her out of the sofa.

"Come on, I want to take you somewhere."

* * *

"Oh I love walking out with you." She said hugging into his side as they entered the park.

"Good." He said as they walked she tucked into his side.

"Where did you want to take me?" she asked him.

He looked up, smiled and said "Here actually." He admitted.

"Here?" she asked. "The park?"

He nodded taking them to a nearby spot holding her close to him she looked up into his eyes and wondered what he was thinking. "Do you know where we are?" he asked her.

"Kings Park?" she questioned him.

"Yes, Kings Park." He nodded before he took a deep breath "Think, three years ago," he said quietly "right here." He said his finger pointing towards the ground "There was snow like this and we decided to build a snowman..." he continued.

She gasped. "Oh my god Gil!" she exclaimed suddenly realising "Our first kiss!" she exclaimed. "I mean, our real first kiss! The one..."

"Yeah." He admitted. "I'd come back here, in those two years we were apart, I'd stand right here and just, remember." He said with a slight blush. "I've wanted to bring you back here, but it didn't seem right when you were here last, but now its snowing and its late, its just me and you and we're together now." He said drawing her ever closer. "I'm sorry." He whispered to her.

"Sorry?" she questioned.

He nodded "For kissing you that day." He told her.

"No!" She objected wrapping her arms around his neck now "Don't ever ever be sorry for that!" she told him "You can't imagine how it made me feel if you think it needs apologising for." She said shaking her head in the moment. She looked up to him, silent for a moment before she whispered "I tingled." She said a smile playing on her lips "I tingled everywhere and everything was tingly." She blushed "I had never felt love so intensely before." She remembered "and it's not like we butterfly kissed or kissed lightly to start with we just kissed and it was real kissing like mouths and tongues and it was so intense it scared me and when you told me you loved me, I couldn't handle it because of what I knew would come because of everything..." she said trailing.

"Then, I'm sorry it was so intense." He tried.

"But it was you and me." She replied with a laugh "it was always going to be intense." She told him.

"Then..." he trailed.

"Gil, you don't have a single thing to be sorry for." She whispered to him then we a smile and a flirty eyebrow added "except for maybe being so perfect I sometimes wonder what I've done to deserve you."

"Anne, I'm not..." he started.

"You are." She objected quickly. "Perfect for me." She smiled.

He grinned looking up for a moment shyly "well, I suppose that's what I always wanted to be perfect for so..." he said before he looked down into her eyes "Anne, are you sure it was about how intense it was? I never meant to push you."

"You didn't, I kissed you back remember?" she asked him. "The truth was I was enjoying it and I didn't care in those seconds, I was myself I was free when you were kissing me, it was when you said you loved me, that man, just all of it flooded back all at once and I was scared, of what 'love' was going to do to you, what it would allow me to allow you to do to me." She took a sigh before she pulled his face to hers and kissed him just as she had three years ago. "What's beautiful is, that even three years later, the feelings are more intense, they are stronger, our bond is stronger but I'm not scared anymore. I was terrified when I thought I'd lost you, that day you were in intensive care, I talked to you and I didn't know if you heard any of it subconsciously or not, but it hurt the most because I really thought I would never get to say it to you and see your eyes light up or kiss you and feel your lips on mine again, or that I would never have the chance to be intimate with you."

With this he dipped his head to hers again and kissed her heedlessly. "I love you." He managed to say, a part of him still afraid it would end the same way as it did three years ago.

"I love you too Gil." She told him which made him shiver in delight. She smiled at his reaction and told him "Come on love." She said to him taking his hand and leading him away. "Lets get us our pizza and go back to your place, we need food."

* * *

"I can't believe how late its getting." He said with a smile to her as they entered his apartment.

"Pizza!" Anne exclaimed putting it on the table.

"I'll get the chips out the cupboard." He said with a smile. He went over to the kitchen and pulled out two glasses popping ice in from the ice maker on the fridge then managed to carry over the two glasses a bottle of diet cola with the potato chips red vines and chocolate being carried. He settled next to Anne on the sofa and looked over at her, she who was now happily tucking into the pizza.

"God bless you." She said looking at his handfuls of food as he opened the chips he smiled more at her with a glint in his eyes. "What?" She asked him her mouth full of pizza her face confused.

"Did I ever really mention the reasons I could never love Christine?" he asked her. She shrugged he smiled and said "there were a number of times we were meant to be chilling out you know just relaxing and not worrying, well there was one time in particular we were watching or about to watch a football game on TV," he admitted. "I had came out with my tomato flavoured chips and she complained about gluten..."

"aren't these gluten free?" she asked looking at the packet for a moment.

"and fat..." he smiled and told her with a chuckle "...and look at you!" he said to her "It's refreshing, you're refreshing Anne." He continued "A women who doesn't always count every single carb or fat or gluten, a women who is just real and can chill with me, who can throw her hair up in a messy bun and drink diet coke and just be real." He said with a grin "I am the luckiest man in the world!" he said the grin still plastered on his face.

"You're lucky because I eat?" she questioned.

"Yes." He laughed. "yes I am."

She chuckled before she said "You know my diet will make be fat one day." She commented.

He shook his head "No never, not you." He disagreed. He then looked at her sweetly before he said "But I wouldn't mind sticking around to find out."

"Awww." She sounded. Before she gave him a kiss "That's so sweet!" she told him. "You too love." She told him.

"Sounds perfect." He said cuddling her into his side for a moment "diet cola?" he asked her.

"Sure." She said pulling his laptop close to her, "Do you fancy a mission impossible?" she asked him to which he smiled and nodded.

* * *

"Bag?" Anne asked him.

"check." He confirmed.

"tea?" she asked.

He held up a couple of travel mugs popping them in the front of the four by four in the cup holders.

"water?" she asked him as he held up a 1 litre bottle of water he slid it in the passage side door.

"Snacks for the journey?" she asked.

"chips, chocolate, peppermints." He said putting them in the glove compartment.

"Sounds like we're on our way to diabetes not Avonlea." She said with a smile. "I think we have everything." She confirmed.

"do you want me to drive part way?" he asked "we can swap part way there if you like?" he asked.

"Sure." she said throwing him the keys. "we do need to get moving," she admitted, "its already one and I promised your mother you would be home today." She admitted.

"If we stop half way just for a bathroom break we should make it back by a descent hour." He admitted "even with snow on Avonlea end."

"Sound fine." She said as she climbed in the passenger seat and Gilbert in the driving seat. "Roadtrip!" she exclaimed as he started the engine they both fastening their seatbelts. "Oh we need some tunes!" Anne exclaimed, pulling out her phone she opened the music player. As they left the parking garage a wide grin came across Anne's face as she started the music. A wicked grin came across her face as the music started and Gilbert's face fell.

"Oh God Anne!" he winced.

" _When I need motivation My one solution is my queen_." She sang along.

"No, No way!" he exclaimed. "Next tune next tune!" he tried.

"No Way!" she exclaimed before she started singing again " _All these other girls are tempting_  
 _But I'm empty when you're gone..."_

"Oh my God! You are such a teeny bopper sometimes!" he called over her singing. "I can't believe you can listen to this!"

" _Oh I think that I found myself a cheerleader, She is always right there when I need her._ " She sang along.

"Who taught you these songs?!" he questioned.

"Diana!" she called with a grin.

"How could you?!" he exclaimed. "Stummer is spinning in his grave!"

"Okay okay..." she said getting her phone skipping the song ending it before another tune started. " _I stay out too late, got nothing in my brain, That's what people say, that's what people say!_ "

"This is even worse!" He winced.

" _Ummm Um_." She sang along.

"Taylor Swift are you kidding?"

" _Can't stop, won't stop moving_ " she sang along dancing in her seat.

"I'm trapped in the car with you for five hours you know that right?" he asked her.

" _Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake_ _I shake it off, I shake it off...Oh!_ "

He tried to reach over to her take the phone to which she popped it in her other hand and waved it out of his reach "Na ah ah!" she exclaimed.

He looked to her dancing in her seat and it made him grin, she was so care free, how could he stop her?

* * *

An hour later and Anne had stopped tormenting him with teen bopping music and had settled on some Queen playing in the background. Anne's hand was across the seat on Gilbert's knee, he returned the sentiment only moving if he needed to move in and out of gear and on the highway he didn't need to do it often. A smile played on his lips.

"Are you okay love?" she asked him.

"Me?" he asked. "I'm fine, more then fine, this is kind of nice." He admitted. She looked at him for a moment before he continued "A beautiful girl beside me, we're driving, just the two of us, it feels real, it feels nice." He said with a grin.

"It is real." Anne admitted before her hand moved up his leg to his upper thigh "and your mine."

Gilbert took a deep breath upon her hand moving up his thigh his heart rate had increased fast at the gesture. He was never sure just how much Anne knew on how something as small as that could effect him, but he knew one thing for sure, she couldn't be ready for that, not yet and he wouldn't push her.

* * *

The weather wasn't as bad going back to Avonlea so Gilbert and Anne pulled up to Blythe Farm at 7pm on the dot, Mrs Blythe's arms flinging around her son's neck as he entered the kitchen.

"How are you?!" she exclaimed looking at him "you look thinner..." she claimed "Anne doesn't he look thinner?" she tried.

"Its just puppy fat going ma," Gilbert tried "I'm eating all the food your sending, ask Anne, my cupboards were empty last night because I'd eaten everything. Look?" he tried again taking off his coat showing her his arms, "Muscles see? I couldn't maintain muscle if I wasn't eating right could I?" he asked her.

"Well..." she started.

"come on ma, your honest nurses training please?" he asked her.

"No, no you couldn't." She finally conceded. "I just worry." She said hugging him again.

"Its alright." He said quietly to her "I'm home for a couple of weeks now, you can keep an eye on me." He said with a smile to her.

"You two must be exhausted, you've been travelling all day." She said with a sigh. "Here have some shortbread." She said to them both handing them both the plate of shortbread she had just completed. Gilbert rolled his eyes and took one. "Are you staying the night Anne?" she asked her.

"I'll stay a little longer this evening Mrs Blythe, if that's okay, but I really must get back to Green Gables tonight." She said trying to sound as light as possible.

* * *

Anne took a deep breath her whole body was flushed as she pulled away from him.

"You have to leave?" he asked her reading her face.

"Yes." She agreed, "but I really don't want to." She said falling back into his arms, she quickly turned back into him and started to kiss him again, the now familiar feeling starting in her stomach, her leg raised coming up the inside of his as she pulled herself onto him she could feel her whole self tingling. He turned them both over laying parallel with each other they kissed more, each kiss, becoming less shy and more loving before he suddenly pulled back

"Anne love." He whispered. "You need to go, remember?"

"In a minute." She said pulling him back to her, he pulled back where she looked confused as he brought himself out of the hold. "Gil?" she asked him.

"I should get on with some studying tonight, since you aren't staying." He said to her.

She frowned for a second a little confused. She was sure not seconds ago she knew where 'it' was going, alright maybe they wouldn't have gone all the way but all the same, him pulling back so suddenly was so strange. "Well its never stopped us from staying over before." She tried.

"Yes, but you are going tonight you already said." He said practically. "I might as well get on with it." He commented.

Anne took a deep breath as he got off his bed straightening himself up before he moved across his bedroom to his bags and pulled out one of his medical books.

"Okay." She agreed getting up behind him "I might as well go then." She said quietly.

He turned around quickly and gathered her in his arms, kissed her lightly and said to her "I love you, you know that right?"

She looked up into his eyes and suddenly snapped out of the unsure feeling, maybe she had just been caught up in the moment. "Yes, I do know it." She replied. "I love you too." She told him.

"Come on, let me walk you down to your car."


	45. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 9

Anne looked out over the horizon. The wild trail which had brought them here was a pure blanket of snow, Even though it had not snowed in over a week the temperatures had been so cold that none of the snow had melted of its own accord. The only paths were ones made under eh foot of men and the roads now thankfully had been made clear of snow and salt had been put on them to make it easier to drive. They were far away from that sort of civilized path, the only tracks which could be found for miles were that of the robin and two sets of human footprints, which clearly started in Avonlea and ended only at Hesters Garden.. It had been two weeks since Gilbert had come back to Avonlea for the Winter Holidays and it now seemed as though the time where he needed to be back in Kingsport was upon them, he'd be going back there in three days. He had desperately wanted to be alone with Anne over the holidays but between shadowing Doctor Dixon at the local hospital and Anne working they had barely been able to touch base with each other. Today they had marked as "their" day and found peace in walking up Hester's Hill and creating a fire while they were up there. They brought chairs with them and they were both holding gloved hands looking at the view from the hill.

"You'd think it would be less beautiful wouldn't you?" he said softly.

"Its a magical place Gil," Anne said to him with a smile on her face "Enchanted."

"Enchanted?" he repeated. "Now I like that."

"Its so unspotted from the world, there's nothing here which implies phones or electric, its just us." She said reverently.

"I wonder if we'd be able to camp up here?" he asked her.

"I don't know, I'd assume so." Anne said to him, "Maybe I can find out we can come back in the summer."

He shrugged "We could do it now?" he said with a grin. "It would be nice and peaceful."

"And nice and freezing!" She said with a smile to him where he grinned back. "Do you really _want_ to camp in this?"

"Sure," He said with a laugh "with an electric blanket."

She laughed with him "You know there's no electric sockets up here?" she asked him teasingly.

"Summer it is then." He said to her then took a sip of his tea. "its a date then," He smirked "assuming we're still together."

At this Anne giggled "Still not taking me for granted?" she asked.

"Nope, not ever, every day a blessing." He said looking at her with sweet eyes.

She blushed slightly at his words before they fell silent again.

* * *

Anne woke the next morning in the warmth of his bed. She smiled recognising the smell of his bedroom she turned over in the bed looking for him with her arms. She only opened her eyes when she couldn't feel him there. She frowned sitting up in the bed. He had definitely been there the previous night, she had fallen asleep in his arms. She picked up her phone, confused, maybe she had overslept? She looked at the digital display of 07:30 and sighed. She put her phone down and flopped back on the bed when he came into the room. She looked wide eyed at him in surprised when he was wearing sweat pants a t shirt and zip up top.

"morning beautiful." He said with a smile to her and a kiss. "I was wondering if you had woken yet."

She was still confused so questioning him seemed a little blunt "Have you been out running?" she asked him.

He looked at her as if she was crazy "You know I go out on a morning run when I can."

"Yes." She agreed, "but, this morning?" she asked.

"Well I couldn't sleep and I didn't want to wake you, I went out at six thirty." He said sitting on the edge of the bed. "Quick kiss before I shower?" he asked her.

She smiled and sat up wrapping her arms around him.

"Careful." He said with a light grin. "You don't want to get too close I'm all hot and sweaty from my run."

"I don't care." She said honestly pulling him in for a kiss.

She felt his lips relax under hers, she smiled as he sighed contently in the kiss. She grinned as she felt both his arms wrap around her his body leaning in closer to her. She lay back slowly parting her legs as he moved up the bed while their lips didn't leave each other he relaxed there her legs wrapping around him.

Her heart went faster as his hand travelled down her side following the crease into her leg. She pulled back for a second to gasp where his hand was removed suddenly.

"Sorry." He whispered his cheek pink.

"No don't be." She said confused as to why he was moving back. "Gil no!" she tried. "Don't go."

Regardless he sat again on the edge of the bed. She could see he was trying to take breaths to calm down her stomach plunged when he stood up picked up his towel and said "I better take that shower." Then as quickly as he had came in the bedroom he was gone.

Anne sat up clearly confused about the encounter. Her heart still racing. That was the best feeling she had ever had! She had never expected when the hand was welcome there it would feel so completely opposite as it had just there, but she supposed it made sense. One was done in love the other in abuse. Her heart still racing a smile played on her lips as she realised she would happily let him do it again.

And Again.

And Again.

And...

She gasped again finally acknowledging the feeling which had been building up in her for quite some time. She sighed in a funny relief. So she could feel that way!

She picked up her phone and dialled a number she thought she wouldn't ever need to use.

* * *

"Anne are you sure you're okay driving me all the way back to school?" he asked her.

"Yes!" she exclaimed rolling her eyes, "I brought you back remember, your mini is still in the car park in your building, how else are you going to get back?"

"I do have parents you know?" he reminded her.

"Well..." she said with a raised eyebrow "of course if you would like to spend that time with your parents then of course you should..." she said to him her eyes going wide and innocently at him "But my love, I thought you might like it if I spent the night..." she said her arms going around him "...in bed..." she said bringing herself closer to him drawing her mouth to his ear"...with you."

She smiled as she could feel him reacting his arms draped around her lazily she reached up as he reached down with their lips gently they brushed each others lips with the others, he leaned into her pulling his head back far enough she looked up and saw his eyes were squeezed shut as if to concentrate, she looked as his eyes opened and just for a moment she was sure she could see he was confused.

"I'd love you to stay over, you know that." He whispered.

"Then?" she asked.

"Then, drive me back to school." He said with a smile to her. "You know I can't wait to spend time with you."

"Good," she said with a grin. "But I really must be back by Monday afternoon, I have an appointment I need to keep." She said casually.

"Appointment?" he asked her.

"Just a dentists check up." She told him. "They are just a nightmare to rearrange, I best just get it over and done with."

He nodded appreciating what she was saying. "Then we'll make sure," he said "we can drive up there Friday once you've finished work and you can leave bright and early on Monday morning."

"Ummm." She smiled. "I like that, two whole days all to ourselves" she smiled with him. "I'll miss you. When you aren't here I'll miss you, you know that right?" She whispered to him.

"I'll miss you." He whispered back, "these holidays have come and gone too quickly." He admitted to which she laughed in agreement. "You'll come and see me soon yes?" he asked her.

"Yes." She agreed. "I promise." She told him "Easter, I'll come for easter for certain." She agreed.

"Thats not until April!" he exclaimed.

"And until then we have skype." She said to him kissing him again.

* * *

"Thank you Mr James, bye." Anne smiled as a customer left the bookstore.

"Anne," Andrew approached her on the early spring afternoon.

"Andrew," she smiled.

He paused and thought carefully before he continued "are you happy here Anne?" he asked her.

"Why would I not be?" Anne asked her face falling. "Am I..." she started then continued "Am I doing something wrong?" she asked him.

"No!" Andrew exclaimed "No, Anne not at all, you're a hard worker, you know your literature and you're not bad at the non fiction too, you can recommend more books then I can and you have a natural customer service flare."

"So?" she asked confused.

He took a sigh and continued "You have an English degree!" he exclaimed "you have a English degree and you're working in a shop!"

Anne smiled and looked at him "I don't see how one has to do with another." She told him "I came here with no work experience, if nothing else its enriched my love for books as well as given me some work experience behind me."

He sighed and said to her "Surely there's something else you'd rather be doing?"

Anne looked concerned "are you firing me?" she asked.

"No, its just you're too good for the post, don't you think you'd be better off..."

"Andrew, I chose this job because I wanted an income, I want to work but I also needed something where I wasn't going to be doing overtime hours or worrying about it at home, because I am working on..." she paused in her speech not wanting to tell anyone about the series of short stories in the making just yet, not to mention further plans for her future she hadn't shared with anyone else yet, not even Gilbert "other projects." She admitted. "I am happy Andrew and this job is not beneath me."

Andrew smiled in relief "I'm glad." He said. "Now, its closing up time, do you want to head home, I'll finish up here."

"Okay." Anne said. "Are you sure everything is okay?" she double checked.

"I'm positive, you're an assess Anne."

She smiled and packed up her things walking down main street she slipped between the library and the old railway station to the slip road onto the entrance to the woods. She sighed contently and lost herself in her thoughts.

Upon return from university she had been stopped by several people asking her what her next grand plan was, and honestly at first she didn't know. Her writing was an obvious priority, but not many people knew Anne had been working at the bookstore so she could write her novel too. Her occupation didn't need further education like Gilbert's did. She didn't _need_ a further education. Yet she didn't have the means to pay for anything further, there were no scholarships available in English the year she graduated, and she couldn't think of anywhere she'd rather work, she Anne Shirley, worked in a bookstore, a bookstore! Would it be natural for her to be in a job which meant she wasn't surrounded by books?

She eventually came to Green Gables greeting Marilla with a kiss on the cheek to Marilla in the kitchen and a smile to Davy as she started to walk through the parlour.

"You going to moon over Gilbert?" Davy asked her.

"If you mean talk to him over Skype yes." Anne said with a grin stopping to talk to him. "He has classes until eight so it won't be until later."

"Good, because I need your help." He told Anne.

"My help?" she asked.

"Coach Rennie says I have to get better grades if I want to stay on the football team." He said with a heavy sigh, bringing out a pile of papers. "I can't believe the other teachers are in cahoots with each other."

"Davy!" she exclaimed looking through the papers. "None of these papers are marked anything above a C minus!" she exclaimed. "And that's from Mr Irving."

"Shhh!" he cried. "Marilla will hear!"

"Marilla will know when your report card comes out with these grades on if you continue on like this." She told him.

"I know." He said "That's why I need your help."

"You want my help getting your grades up?" she asked him.

"Yes." He said. "Not to genius levels, I don't want to go to university, Millie Moore's dad is a welder and he said he would take me on as an apprentice. All I need is my High School Diploma he said."

"You won't even get that if you continue like this." Anne told him seriously. They looked at each other for a moment before she said "but I can help." She said to him.

"Aw Anne! You're the best!" he exclaimed.

* * *

"Coach Rennie was always extremely fair." Gilbert told Anne, "and he must believe that Davy can do it, with the training otherwise he would tell him he was off the team." Gilbert assured Anne later.

"I don't understand Davy, he's smart." Anne said shaking her head. "Why doesn't he just apply himself, he could make it to college one day."

"He's still only a freshman Anne." Gilbert commented with a smile "plenty of boys have changed their minds between the ages of fourteen to eighteen."

"Which is why its better to have good grades now so he doesn't hinder himself later."

"Anne I know this." Gilbert said with a grin.

Anne sighed "Sorry." She said with a grin "I know you do love."

"I sense there's something else bothering you." He said looking at her concerned.

She sighed and said to him "Andrew spoke to me today, he said he was concerned I was working beneath me."

He smiled and said "well they all expect great things of you Anne." He told her softly. "a bookshop isn't what they had in mind."

"Why not?" she sighed "It's not _beneath_ me, I've never worked before why not a bookstore?"

"You've always reached for the stars." Gilbert smiled "and people are _seeing_ you are settled and its _un_ settling to them."

"I'm writing my story." She defended.

"I know."

"Its not like I'm not doing anything."

"I know."

"Even if I wasn't, what if I wasn't doing anything, what business is it of everyone?"

"Every one?" Gilbert asked "I thought we were talking about Andrew?" he asked.

"Andrew, Mrs March, Mr Holmes, Mr Potter the next door neighbour..." she trailed.

"Everyone's asking." He nodded understanding.

"And then, Mrs Andrews proclaimed that because I 'have me a man' that 'I've suddenly seen the light' and 'given up'." She continued "of all the anti feministic tripe I've heard..."

Gilbert chuckled "well you'll show them when you get yourself published." He said proudly.

"Um." She finally concurred. "I'm just sick already of people's attitudes."

"Its a small town." Gilbert agreed. "How do you think they reacted when they found out I was going to medical school. I'm just a farmer's son."

"You were never _just_ **_any_** thing." Anne replied. "not to me anyway." She told him.

He smiled a blush appearing at his cheeks. "You too love."


	46. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 10

**I feel like I should be shouting out to everyone this week! People you know who you are and I love to inbox you all! Thank you so much for the feedback, please feel free to comment! Love Carrots x**

* * *

Gilbert walked through his lobby greeting the security guard on his way past.

Today it was the ides of March. Almost Easter and almost time to see Anne again. He put the key in the elevator and the elevator started up the building. He shut his eyes his head against the panel behind him. Classes were gruelling and hard but he was keeping up.

The last two years of university had been a nightmare. He had become accustom to working with Anne beside him. It was easy with her there, yes his thoughts would drift to her sometimes, he would study her face her ability to concentrate, he watched as she learned new things the way her eyes would brighten, her tongue would peak out of one side of her mouth as she worked. He'd smile and continue working, when he wanted to talk out an idea, wanted to work on something, she would be there.

Until she wasn't. The distance was bad enough but the actual cut off of her, of her friendship of her personality in his life, It had hurt him.

Now, she was back, of sorts. Their relationship was refreshing, she was refreshing but the distance was _killing_ him! How he thought they could do long distance when he went to New York was beyond him! Although he may not have stayed as long if he had Anne to come home to!

He couldn't wait to get in, online and talking to Anne. The elevator pinged and the doors open, Gilbert's eyes widened as he saw his old lettermans jacket on the coat rack as he came in the room. His own coat he started to bring down his shoulders.

His eyes brighten his legs carried him to the sofa. "Anne." He smiled his coat disregarded. She had been lying on the sofa her laptop on her chest when he had came in the room by the time he arrived at the sofa the laptop was disregarded, his shoes quickly kicked off, his body slipping on top of hers, her lips greeting his. Gilbert sighed humming in her mouth in satisfaction. He felt her lips smile for a moment at his satisfaction before her fingers ruffled in his hair, their lips not leaving each other Gilbert felt Anne's hand slip under his t-shirt her hand pressing between his hip and his stomach, he drew a deep breath in as he pulled back for a moment looking down into Anne's eyes he saw a twinkling green hue to her eyes.

She bit her bottom lip playfully before her hand slipped round his back, she closed the gap between their lips again.

Thoroughly kissed some time later he pulled back his head resting in her bosom he looked up and smiled "Hello."

Anne laughed then bit her bottom lip again "hello."

"You didn't say you were coming?" he wondered.

"I wanted to surprise you." She told him. "I have a meeting with a publisher and..."

"Publisher?!" he exclaimed pulling himself up looking at her happily. "Anne!"

She smiled her cheeks pinking pulling herself up next to him their legs still tangled together "Don't get too excited, its just a meeting."

"Just a..." he looked at her incredulously.

"A meeting," she said with a smile "just to go over my book." She told him. "I thought since I was in town and you've offered before and I've stayed here before..."

"Don't think on it." He said with a smile. "You belong here." He said with a smile.

"In your room with you?" she flirted.

He smiled widely and nodded. "In my room, with me." He smiled looking at her for a moment before he jumped up and took her hand.

"Where are we going?" she asked him.

"Its Tuesday night." He said with a smile. "You know what that means?" he asked her.

Her confused look turned to a bright smile. "Slam Dunk the funk? Its still going?" she squealed excitingly.

"Come on." He said taking her by the hand "A _real_ date this time?" he said with a grin.

Anne laughed taking his hand letting him pull her up "That's right they were dates weren't they?" she smiled. "The best dates ever." She told him as they headed towards the elevator.

She whispered. "I love you."

"I love you." He said pulling her in and kissing her. The elevator binged and they both broke the kiss and looked up at the offending sound, before he looked down at her with a raised eyebrow they smiled and then started to laugh. "come on," he whispered. "Lets go."

* * *

Four hours later Anne was spooned by Gilbert his arm around her cuddling her back into his chest. His nose moved her hair so he could kissed into her shoulder and he smelled her hair then his eyes closing. She was asleep now but they had a lovely evening. They had laughed their way through Slam Dunk the funk, gone to a fast food restaurant, where Anne had insisted on them sharing the milkshake 'like they did in the old movies', they went back to his apartment where she had sat and helped him study for his test in two days. They had came into the bedroom where he had wrapped his arms around her she had snuggled her back into him and had fallen asleep within minutes. He smiled now relaxing at the feeling.

This was heaven. The evening had been lively and they had studies just as they had before. He held her a little closer realising again that actually all that time ago, he wasn't imagining it that they were falling in love, that _Anne_ had _loved_ him. Those feelings were real, and now, now it was only better the echoes of yeterdays past flooded in his memory. He grinned closing his eyes.

* * *

Gilbert's eyes followed Anne the next morning. Her knee length skirt had a slit just above her knee to her mid thigh, the suit nipped in at the waist, Her long hair nipped in a bobble she had straighten her hair. Her shoes were a pair of high heels.

"You look very pretty for your meeting." He said to her.

"Thanks you." She said with a smile but then saw the look on his face "but?" she asked him.

"You don't look like you." He told her "you look very formal."

She grinned and said to him "I have to look responsible, its a formal meeting."

"I know but you look all business like, its not a look I'm used to." He said to her.

"Do you not like me looking like this?" she asked him.

"I didn't say that," he told her taking a sip of his tea "I like to look at you however you look." He admitted "It just different, like how you might look one day if you became a teacher, or a lawyer." He said with a grin. "What time is your meeting?"

"Ten." Anne confirmed. Putting the milk in her tea. "You're first class is at nine thirty right?"

"Yeah, that's right." He said with a grin "have you memorised my timetable?" he asked.

"Maybe." She said with a soft smile. "Can I walk you to class? It'll still give me time to get there on time?" she asked.

"I'd love that."

* * *

He arrived back to the apartment to find Anne sitting crossed legged on the floor with her laptop in front of her she was concentrating so much Gilbert could see she hadn't noticed him come in. She had changed out of her clothes she had been wearing into some yoga pants and a baggy t-shirt her hair swirled on top of her head in a bun.

"Hey beautiful." He said kissing her on her head.

"Hey." She said blinking "Are you back already?" she asked him.

"Already?" he asked "its half past eight." He told her.

She looked at the clock on her laptop and shook her head.

"How did your meeting go?" he asked her.

She sighed and sat back from her laptop. "They said there was a lot of work to be done and suggested several edits, extensions, plot developments, changes..." she sighed and looked at him "which they've conveniently marked up for me." She said trying to hold back the tears but failing completely. Gilbert jumped and sat next to her on the floor cuddling her into him "

Hey, hey." He whispered softly. "Come on love, the changes can't be that drastic otherwise they would have rejected it on first read." He told her "and remember you said, you said remember that several edits would need to be made, you told me that." He said practically. "These are the baby steps remember." He encouraged her cuddling her into his chest "you romantic soul you." He whispered "its a step remember to writing the great Canadian novel." He soothed her, to which she pulled back and looked at him amazed. "What?" he asked.

She shook her head "When we weren't in contact I'd sometimes have dreams." She took a deep breath and continued "of you," she paused before she said "and me, and we'd just be talking, just hanging out and it would just be like old times you know." She smiled "but anyway after Averil and everything happened, Roy had been trying to convince me all would be okay and he just did it all wrong, and I had this dream of you where I said you would tell me that all the greats get reduced down to popular culture that no one would mock me, to take the money and do something useful to it and that I'd write the great Canadian Novel and that I was a romantic soul." She smiled.

He smiled and hugged her more "well it sounds as though you were having a sleep relationship with me." He smiled "You had my character down though." He shrugged "at least it was an accurate representation of me." He grinned.

"You were there." She whispered, "In my dreams." She sighed wiping her eyes.

"And I was saying just what I would say in real life, you can be anything you want to be Anne." He whispered. "I know it feels as though you are editing everything, but they must see potential in it Anne." He said still stroking her arm "Your profession is the easiest to start, anyone can start to write," he told her "but my god is it the hardest and most competitive profession in the world!" he exclaimed "You get edited and critiqued every step into publication and then once that is over you have to deal with the critics on the other end!" he admitted "its tough, and not many people can handle it." He told her "but you Anne Shirley," he whispered to her "are a formidable women." He pressed his lips into her forehead "You're the women I love," he told her "and the women I love can achieve _anything_ she wants to." He told her.

She cried into him and smiled at the same time. "I don't always want to be strong Gil." She told him.

"I know." He nodded and remained silent for a minute just letting her sob for a little while, "but you and I," he finally whispered "we're made of the same things aren't we?" he asked her.

"Yeah." She agreed. "Yeah we are."

He looked to her laptop before he said "Your brain must be fried from your meeting and I bet you haven't stopped since you got back." To which she nodded. "So how about you put your laptop away and don't look at it until you get back to Avonlea, look at it with a fresh eye and open mind?"

She sighed looked at the computer and then at him "Done." She said shutting the lid of the laptop. "Do you have work to do?" she asked him.

"I do." He acknowledged "But nothing that can't wait until after I've had some of my mother's stew and tucked us in bed, its the perfect in bed kind of studying."

She smiled and said "I wish we had more of that more often."

He looked down at her as she tucked herself into him more her hand slipping down to just below his belly button, he took a deep breath closed his eyes and put his hand on top of hers "Ummm." He sounded "That feels good." He whispered.

"I can go lower." She whispered.

He opened his eyes and looked at her "you don't need to do that Anne." He whispered. "Come on its not needed." He said slipping his fingers into hers and kissed the back of her hand. "I don't know about you but I'm exhausted." He admitted. "Lets get something to eat and get to our night time routine, then you'll be good to head back in the morning."

* * *

Anne woke with a start sometime later, she turned on the bed looking at her phone it read two thirty she turned back to watch Gilbert sleep.

They had eaten quietly then headed into the bedroom, Gilbert had a book he was reading for school which he had read past her going to sleep. She studied his face now. Still the same handsome face, those roguish hazel playful eyes which were closed behind their lids right now. She sighed and let her hand slip down to the waistband of the pyjama bottoms he had on. She stopped before she went any further wondering for a moment why it was he didn't seem to want to go any further? It was strange, because even as she had been falling asleep he had one arm around her loving her so gently so entirely.

"Do you love me Gilbert Blythe?" she whispered to him before she rolled her eyes and shook her head. She knew she was being ridiculous, it was Gilbert Blythe, of course he loved her. He had been patient and waited for her, it was her turn now. She lay back down and wrapped herself into his arm which she knew he must have woken a little because he held her a little tighter there for a moment. She smiled and sighed contently. She was happy and content and in the arms of the man who loved her. That's all that mattered really.

* * *

September 2014

Gilbert stood outside of the middle school door.

He didn't think he was ready for this.

He wasn't ready to face school with his dad in the current condition.

He didn't really care anymore.

Charlie's plan for them to be the co-captains of the football team by high school.

Billy Andrew's plan to sneak out beer into the woods at the weekend so they could all get wasted.

Josie, Ruby, Jane and their giggling.

None of it mattered anymore.

The night before his parents told him his dad had cancer, and his whole world fell apart.

Reality of life hit him all at once. He'd read about the five stages of grief.

 ** _Denial_**

"What?!" he had shouted. "No! No, no way!" he had cried in shock. "But you don't _look_ sick!"

"Not all sicknesses can be _seen_ Gilbert." His dad had said patiently.

"Well where is it?!"

John swallowed "My Throat son."

 ** _Bargaining_**

"Okay, well fine then, just get the tonsils out that'll get rid of it." Gilbert had bargained.

"It isn't tonsillitis Gilbert." His mother said softly. "Taking them out will make no difference."

"This isn't happening!" Gilbert dropped back to denial sitting down at the table he hand over his head. "How did this happen?! Why?"

"We don't know why," John had started.

"Let's just thank God we..."

 _ **Anger**_

"God!" Gilbert exclaimed. "You think God would let this happen?!" Gilbert shook his head.  
"Gilbert..." his mother tried.

"No!" No way! You can't expect me to believe in a God who would let this happen!" he shouted. "Forget church and God screw them!" Gilbert had finally screamed.

"Gilbert!" His father had reprimanded sternly. "we can't play the blame game here son."

"We have to try to work through this as a family."

At this Gilbert had marched out the room and up the stairs ensuring he slammed every door on the way to his bedroom.

 ** _Depression_**

An hour later his mother sat on the end of his bed "Gilbert?" she had whispered to the crying lad.

"Leave me alone!" he cried. "My world is falling apart."

His mother took a sigh and whispered "Gilbert this isn't the end."

"You don't know that!" Gilbert exclaimed from in his arms.

"Gilbert, please come on come here. Get up." She said taking him by the hand she flung himself into her lap.

"Up, I don't want to get up, I just want to be miserable." He cried. His mother had held him in her arms for another hour that night before he sat up suddenly wiped his eyes and proclaimed "I wish..." he started "I wish I didn't have to feel anything."

Presently he stood outside the middle school doors, his reactions had ranged between all of the above reactions, Denial, Bargaining, Anger and depression all seemed to swirl round him, he knew the last step was inevitable, it would come to him as all things did: Acceptance. He just wasn't there yet. It could wait, he wanted to wallow some more. Right now, now he had to face middle school. He took a deep breath and opened the door going into the corridor, he sighed in relief as no one seemed to be in the corridor he was particularly close to.

"Hi Gil!" Josie waved at him from across the corridor.

"Hey." He nodded as he walked by followed by the shriek of giggles from the girls as his back was turned. He continued down the corridor and saw a quiet Diana look at him wide eyed before her cheeks went red and she turned away into her locker. He looked up towards his locker to find his friends there.

"Hey Gil." Charlie grinned as his friend came down the corridor.

"Hey." Gilbert greeted.

"You'll never guess what I heard?" Charlie exclaimed.

"Um?" Gilbert asked, trying to work out if his friends knew or not, were they acting differently? Or was the whole world just different because he knew?

"I heard Josie flashed to Ian Cain in the woods last night." Charlie proclaimed.

Gilbert looked down the corridor to Josie who was twirling her hair giving beauty tips to any girl who would hear her.

"Oh?" he feigned interest for the sake of it being Charlie. "Sorry but why..." he started.

"Why?!" Charlie exclaimed "why indeed!" he said with a air of cockiness which always confused Gilbert "Can't you see?" Charlie asked Gilbert. "It's starting!"

"Starting?" Gilbert asked him.

"Stuck on slow today Blythe?" Charlie asked him. "I don;t know about you but I've wanted to start asking all the pretty girls out on dates? We'll be able to impress them pick up the chicks." He said smoothing back his hair. "You can be my wing man!" He proclaimed to Gilbert.

Gilbert felt his own eyes roll "Gee, thanks." He said sarcastically but it wasn't picked up on by Charlie. He really had bigger problems to worry about then trying to pick up a thirteen year old girl, even if he was thirteen!

At this Fred Wright came running over to the boys and whispered something in Charlie's ear which made him smile. "Teachers must be of the same opinion." He said with a grin to Gilbert. "Sex talk in first period."

Gilbert came in the house into the kitchen and sat down at the table. His head hit the surface of the table as he let out a heavy sigh.

"Bad day?" his mother asked.

"I think the gods are all working against me to try and break me." He said dramatically to his mother.

"Oh?" she asked with a smile playing on her lips. "why do you think that?" she asked him.

He looked up into his mothers eyes and shook his head. With this Mrs Blythe stopped what she was doing sat down opposite him and said to him "Gilbert, you know you can talk to me about anything don't you?" she asked him.

He looked at his mother for a moment before he shook his head "No, not this." He said.

"W-what?" his mother stuttered in surprise as his boy blushed away shyly. "Ohhh." She realised with a smile on her face "You had the sex talk today!" she realised.

"Oh God Mom!" he emphasised each word. "I don't need to hear it from you too!" he groaned slightly grossed out that his mother could know anything of sex.

Mrs Blythe laughed "Oh baby boy its biology." She smiled.

"Its not though is it?" he said quickly without thinking.

"Its not?" she said.

Gilbert took a heavy sigh and started "Charlie wants to 'nail' as many girls as he can when its legal, his words not mine, though I somehow doubt that's prophetical. Fred blushed his whole way through the day looking positively ill by the end of the day and Moody proclaimed that sex should be had within the bounds of marriage and everything else is immoral." He sighed.

"and you?" Mrs Blythe asked him.

Gilbert sat back in his seat and looked into his lap tears threatening his eyes "Its too much." He choked out. "I... I can't... I don't want to process this, I have more important things to worry about!" he exclaimed.

His mother's gaze didn't part from him but her eyes softened with her face. "Well, you don't need to, until you're at least sixteen, that's another three years." She said reaching for his hands.

"Two and a half." He muttered.

"You know just because you can, it doesn't mean you have to." His mother said to him.

"You think Moody..." he started.

Mrs Blythe smiled "Moody's father is a highly religious man." She admitted "where we go to church, we believe in God we try and live our religious convictions, Moody's dad is somewhat the kind of man who will bash the stand with his bible." She laughed. "His opinions will reflect his fathers."

"Then what?" He asked.

She sighed and thought before she spoke. "Its really up to you what you do with the information Gilbert, I can't force you into being any sort of man." She took a sigh before she continued "but what I would hope for you, is that whenever you have sex that you love the person you have sex with." She told him "because honestly," she continued "and they don't tell you this in sex ed," she told him "You are closer with the people you have sex with, it brings an emotional, some might say spiritual bond with them." She paused looking at him, she could tell he was taking it all very seriously. "You have to be very careful Gilbert not to misuse or abuse that trust."

"You mean rape?" he asked her.

"Not just rape son there's other forms of abuse. Don't ever belittle a girl, do not force a girl, sex is an expression of love and love doesn't force, the intimacy is..." she paused and took breath "intense." She looked up and saw the look on her sons face. "Just, take your time." She said to him. "My advice, is to be in love before sex."

He thought for a minute before he reached into his back pocket pulling out the packet he dumped it on the table "I don't think I'll be needing that anytime soon." He told his mother "I don't think I'll be falling for any girls in Avonlea." He told her.

His mother smiled "None of them?" he asked.

"I think, I would want someone... different, someone, I don't know, someone I could talk to without them giggling or twirling their hair, someone who I can joke with and someone I can really talk to, maybe debate and philosophise with." He said with a nod "Someone different to all them." He said quietly. "Someone who I can share this with." He said with a sigh. "Can you think of anyone around here like that?" he asked her.

To which she shook her head. He started to walk away before she said "Did you not tell any of your friends about your dad?" She asked him.

"No," he admitted quietly. "No, I haven't."


	47. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 11

Okay so in this one, things are heating up, I wouldn't go as for as an M rating because, its not, but this is definitely pre-sex contact, I don't think its the most sexual chapter I've written so... if you're very sensitive to this stuff, cover your eyes!

* * *

The weeks past quickly to Easter. Gilbert exited faster then anyone that day, his booked scooped into his backpack, his jacket still in hand with his pen tucked behind his ear he was the first out of the lecture theatre, out of the building and into the arms of a girl with long red hair and grey eyes.

"Hi." He whispered after they kissed enough time for the rest of his class to catch up with his speedy exit.

"Hi." She whispered back pulling back he kissed her gently.

"Hi." He repeated.

"Hi." She reflected.

He smiled and kissed her more before putting his arm around her as they walked side by side. "Some of my buddies want to go out tonight," he said with a smile "sort of a holiday drink, plenty of time to recover and study..." he started.

"Do you want to go?" Anne asked him.

"Yeah." He shrugged and looked down into her eyes, "I mean you know I'm no party animal but I like to be sociable." He said. "Besides I think we're past the phase of drinking ourselves into a stupor." He said with a smile.

Anne smiled back "Okay, but I didn't bring anything for going out in." She admitted "Can we pop in the shops, get me something pretty to wear?" she asked him.

"You look beautiful in what you're wearing." He said with a grin "but if you really do want to shop we can."

"I want to look extra specially special." She said with a grin.

* * *

Gilbert smiled as she stepped out his bedroom. She had on a dark green floral dress with a thin dark green cardigan on top, with some leggings and her boots on under the short dress. Her hair in a messy bun which framed her face. "Ta-Dah!" she exclaimed posing for him.

"They are going to be green with envy!" he smiled at her. "How about me?" he asked her in a pair of brown Corduroy jeans with a faded AC/DC t shirt on.

"Turn." She said to him as she sat on the snuggle chair. He looked at her confused but did as she asked, a cheeky grin came across her face before demanding "And again." He looked confused this time keeping an eye on her watching as her eyes focused solely on his behind...

"Anne!" he exclaimed to which she looked up with a glint in her eyes

"Nice, very nice!" she told him.

He blushed with a grin on his face which brought out his dimples Anne's smile widened wickedly and he brought his hand out to her "Come on lets get go and meet up with my buddies." He said with a smile as she took his hand "They can't wait to meet you."

* * *

"Remind me again, why did we _need_ to come home?" he asked her.

"You my love, are drunk." She said holding him up.

"You drank the same as me!" he told her tripping as they came out the elevator Anne steadied him with her hand.

"I had two alcohol pops and the rest was water." She said.

"Oh!" he said with a laugh "Those weren't gin tonics?" he asked.

"Nope." She confirmed "I hate gin." She smiled at him.

"But still..." he objected as they entered his room "I only had..." he said.

"Three beers. Then diet colas in between, did no one ever tell you not to drink diet fizzy drinks with your alcohol it makes you drunk faster."

"I'm _not_ drunk!" He proclaimed.

"Right!" she chuckled "How many of me are you seeing right now?"

"That's not a fair test." He told her leaning into her nearly toppling them over before he caught himself.

"Oh?" she wondered.

"You're everywhere to me." He said with a grin "when I catch my breath, its you I breathe." He flirted.

She giggled at this "Whose the pop chic now?!" she teased him.

He laughed before his face straighten and he told her "God, I hated that music, stupid Josie used to play it over and over and over again!"

She told him sitting him on his bed "You're a lightweight." She smiled at him. He stood up and looked down into her eyes taking a heavy sigh "They should make a drink the colour of your eyes." He told her "I'd drown in that drink!" he told her.

She smiled a him looking up into his eyes "Smooth!" she said playfully. "You're even worse at flirting when you're drunk then when you're sober."

He smiled back and captured her lips in his. "Then perhaps my expression needs working on." He whispered. Anne smiled as he pushed her jacket from her shoulders taking her round the waist, he leaned down again and kissed her again. His fingertips ruffled the hem of her skirt for a moment before his hand slipped under the dress searching for a way to her skin. "Help me with it, won't you?" he whispered softly to her.

Anne felt the room get warmer (or was it her) as his lips came back to meet hers. She smiled as they kissed feeling at very least the drinking had taken away whatever inhibitors Gilbert was so afraid to let go of, so why shouldn't they?

Gilbert's skin was easier to find Anne simply pulled his jacket off her fingers at the waist of his jeans under his t shirt Anne felt his lips smile for a moment before he made progress with her dress.

With her Jacket long disregarded he pulled the dress over Anne's head and she kicked off her boots as he stepped out of his. Within seconds they were in each others arms again.

He didn't even paused to take in what was happening but he held her in his arms and lay them on the bed behind them.

His hands slid onto her face cradling her as he kissed her, only breaking the kiss when the t-shirt he had on came over his head, his lips then seeking hers. He felt her body arch towards his, he felt his heart race his body positively buzzing.

She reached down and took off his jeans and her leggings came off likewise she gasped in delight as he held her almost naked body beneath his own.

"Anne..." he whispered kissing into her shoulder his hand left hand slid onto her chest his mouth moving down to the other.

"Gil..." she gasped. "Oh my love..." she whispered "Please, please..." she gasped "Please take it off." She asked of him.

He gasped delighted he reached round and popped the grips. It slid off between them and it was disregarded with the other clothes on the floor. His lips and hands returning to where they were, he felt her shift closer to him he pressed further into her, his face buried into her for a moment as he caught breath, he reached back up with his mouth and kissed her more, into her neck, she rolled them onto their sides where she kissed him more, her body almost crawling up his, their legs tangling as she went.

"Yes..." she whispered. "Gil..." she smiled as he kissed into her chest again "I love you." She gasped.

She felt him tense beside her and he slowly moved back. "No, no Gil, no please!" she said to him.

"We can't do this." He said his head shaking.

"Yes, yes we can, Gil I want to..." she told him.

He pulled the rest of his body back before he said softly "You only think that now." He whispered pulling himself up "You'd regret it by morning." He said pulling back.

"No." She insisted "no I wouldn't."

"We're drunk." He observed. "You know what they say about drunk sex." He said to her.

Her heart was thumping she felt as though it was in her mouth. "No, what?" she asked him.

He sat up and brought his legs over the side of the bed. "You regret it by morning." He managed before he stood up "we'd regret it by morning. That's if we remember it at all." He grabbed hold of the furniture on the way out of the room to help steady him and he closed the door behind him simply stating "excuse me." In a whisper.

It took everything she had not to cry out as tears started streaming down her face in frustration.

She lay on the bed for half an hour before she got off the bed, putting on a old t shirt of Gilbert's she went into the living room expecting to find him there, but it was then she heard the shower pattering in the bathroom, Anne rolled her eyes and moved away from the bathroom door, concluding he chose one hell of a time to take a shower.

She took a fed up sigh opened the cupboard and took out two mugs before she slammed them down on the counter, she went to the draw and opened it to get a teaspoon out before she slammed the draw behind her. She took a couple of deep breaths to try and calm herself she turned on the coffee maker deciding that despite the lateness of the hour they both needed to sober up a little before bed and the tea wouldn't have the same effect.

* * *

Gilbert slammed the bathroom door behind him. His head pounding a reflection of his heart pounding in his chest. He took a deep breath trying to clear his head instead all he could feel was her perfectly beautiful body pressed against his. He shook his head again trying to clear it, but almost fell over again when his mind returned to their encounter, where he ran to the toilet throwing up in it. He cringed at his own body betraying him. He almost lost control in there.

She was so beautiful, and such a turn on, but he had to control it until she really was ready.

 _"D-do…" She had stuttered then shook her head. "Never mind." She whispered. "Its nothing."_

 _He could tell it had been something and told her so at the time, she looked so frightened, it almost scared him._

 _She took another deep breath before she talked again. "If we had got together" she whispered "All that time ago, If we had got together…" she stopped and shook her head._

 _"What?" he asked very concerned now._

 _"Would we have had sex by now?" she had blurted, the words even seemed to scare her. He again had replied and she confirmed with him "So there's not a time limit on the amount of time it take for me to be ready."_

Would they have had sex by then? That was the question, he had said not necessarily but actually being with her was different. Had they have got together they would have been together for two years by the point she asked him that question, so looking back when she had burst into tears soon after, he had wrapped her in his arms at that point, and that's when she had told him everything and he had sworn that night he would always _always_ protect her first. From that point onwards he was there to defend her and keep her safe. It was not safe for him to be like this around her, he slammed his hand around the side of the toilet in frustration. It had barely been eight months, how could he be so impatient? He flushed the toilet and went over to the shower turning it on, he then looked at the temperature and flicked it down to cold, he had a feeling he needed it.

He came out the bathroom half an hour later with his robe on, to the unfamiliar smell of coffee from the machine. He looked to find Anne was sitting cross legged at the coffee table he looked to her confused for a moment before she said

"I figured coffee would help sober us up." She told him.

"Good plan." He said going over to the coffee machine taking the mug and poured the coffee into the mug. He took a sip and asked "Won't this keep us up?"

Anne sighed and said to him "The research varies on the effect of caffeine on sleep." She paused before she continued "but then you know that."

"I do..." he started.

"Then don't baby me Gilbert!" she snapped.

He swallowed looking down at the floor rather then at her.

She took a frustrated sigh then managed to mutter "Sorry."

He came behind her sitting on the couch, one leg on either side of her he kissed into her hair. "I love you." He whispered.

His words melted what was left of her anger, he was so sincere in saying it she really couldn't doubt it.

He loves her. She couldn't mistake it. She turned her head into him hugging into his abdomen. "I love you too." She whispered back.

He wrapped one arm around her shoulder and said to her "Alcohol always makes things worse." He said to her "and I'll try and remember about the carbonated drinks next time." He said with a grin.

"I'll remind you next time." She said her mouth playing a grin, to which he laughed openly.

"Shall we go to bed love?" he asked her softly.

"Sure." She agreed feeling safe in his arms. He stood behind her and put out his hand. She put her hand in his and got up and picked up her own coffee cup, his arm going around her. As they walked towards the bedroom he took another sip of the coffee.

"You know, you make good coffee." He said to her which made her smile

"Maybe its that its made with love." She said with a smile.

He laughed and agreed "Yes, maybe that's it, I could get used to it."

* * *

The sound of his alarm going off penetrated his skull. Gilbert groaned confused for a moment as to what was making the noise so bad before a body lay over him reached for his phone and the buzzing stopped. He could have sworn it couldn't have been seconds later Anne put a pint of water on his bed stand with two aspirin beside it. He turned and tried to open his eyes before he admitted defeat.

"Hangover?" Anne asked him.

"Oh my God its awful!" he managed, "my head is pounding."

She smiled "you really are a lightweight." She said hugging into him.

"I've never been a drinker Anne." He said quietly "Only now am I starting to see the benefit of that." He told her to which she giggled.

"Well I'm glad your sense of humour is still in tact." She smiled. "Drink the water it'll help." She told him.

"How come you're okay?" he asked his arm coming out for the water and aspirin.

"I have water too, I took aspirin when I was in the kitchen and I'm not saying I don't have a hangover." She smiled and sighed happily. "Luckily we have all day to recover."

"Um." He agreed. "How can they keep going?" he questioned.

"Who?" she asked.

"The lads at school, I mean they drank tons more." He complained. "And they were still drinking when we went."

"The more you drink the more used to it you get." She said logically.

"I don't want to get used to it." He groaned.

"Good," she concluded "I don't think I could date an alcoholic." She said with a grin to him as he cracked an eye open and chuckled with her. "How long are you staying?" he asked her.

"Until Wednesday morning, I have another meeting with the publishers." She told him.

"You finished those changes already?" he asked her taking the tablets.

"Yeah." She nodded with a smile "it wasn't as drastic as I thought it would be, its taken less time then I thought."

"That's good isn't it?" He asked her.

"I think there will be more changes." She admitted as he lay back down with her, she hugged into his chest where she could feel his heart beating in his chest "It's a long road." She said quietly.

"A one we'll take together," he said to her then looked down at her as she looked up "yes?" he asked her to confirm "I'm here for you, just as you're here for me."

"Yes." She confirmed.

He lay back again and sighed in relief. Thank heavens, they dodged the drunk sex bullet. That would have been a catastrophe! He closed his eyes trying to calm his thoughts from the previous night. They had been so close, he had been so close to making a huge mistake and he was glad, he was glad that they didn't cave to that temptation there and there.

Even if the image of her tiny body arching into his was burned into his conscious mind, making it even harder then it was before.

He had to stay in control, for her.


	48. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 12

**Hi all,**

 **Once again thank you all for your reviews they really are a highlight to me and I love reading them all, even if I don't reply which I don't always get the chance to do!**

 **So here we are, there's been a slow build up to this so I hope its satisfactory for you all. A shout out to my girl _CatieGirl_ , seriously without your support on this I might have gone crazy, I know you're often in the same position, I hope in our enthusiasm to reply to each other I don't over or under react, I know you're there to support me as I am for you!**

 **Love to you all**

 **Carrots x**

* * *

Gilbert smiled and turned up his stereo to Bon Jovi. He smiled his head nodding at the guitar rift at the beginning of the song. The words striking him "Oh we're half way there!" Half way home!

He smiled at the parallel's in his own life, half way indeed! He had felt half way since he was thirteen. He'd no sooner get used to life then he'd throw something new into the mix.

 _His Dad's throat cancer had been relatively short lived, but it had spread to the chest, which is where the lengthily processes had started. He already felt so far away from his peers, he had withdrawn from a lot of socialising outside of school, only attending when his parents insisted on church picnics or outings which always had adults there so he wasn't pressurised into doing anything anyway._

 _But this time it was different, Charlie, Fred, Moody a few other boys had arranged a group date with some of the girls. Gilbert had been used to equal out the numbers as there had been more girls to boys._

 _And he still hadn't told any of his friends about his dad._

 _"So Gilbert," Ruby had asked him seeing he was standing quietly on his own she had approached him to not leave him feeling left out "are you looking forward to the movie?" she asked him._

 _"Oh," he said confused, "um well not so much, but its okay, its nice to be out with everyone anyway." He said._

 _"I don't suppose chick flicks are really your thing, but then I don't know what is?" she questioned him sweetly._

 _Gilbert looked at her giving a half smile, he knew she was being nice, the others had soon grouped off together, no one but Ruby had seemed to have noticed him. "Well, The Guardians of the Galaxy, X-men, The Imitation Game looks interesting, though that's not out until August so..." he trailed and looked at Ruby who was looking at him in disbelief. "Or you know, whatever it is we're going to see."_

 _She looked at him a little harder trying to work him out "I like your dress." Gilbert tried changing the subject "the green is very pretty."_

 _"Thanks." She smiled "the women in the shop said that it would look better on a redhead, but I think I pull it off too."_

 _Gilbert smiled and nodded his head thoughtfully "I never thought different colours could match or mismatch depending on a persons colouring."_

 _"Oh yes!" Ruby exclaimed before she took him by the arm and explained the inner workings of if a person was a spring summer autumn or winter._

 _Gilbert had run in the house that night, running straight past his parents in the living room up to his room, he heard a knocking on his door before his mother had entered._

 _"Gilbert?" she asked shocked of the sobbing boy in front of her "Gilbert what happened?"_

 _"Nothing." He said shrugging the hand off his shoulder," leave me alone." He said._

 _As confused as she was she did leave, no sooner had she came downstairs that there was a knock on the door. Gilbert had heard it so had came out of his room, he could hear the conversation down the stairs._

 _"Ruby?" Mrs Blythe smiled at the girl. "Aren't you turning into a beautiful young lady." She smiled._

 _"Thank you Mrs Blythe." She said standing a little straighter and smiling before she said "I just wanted to check if Gilbert was okay?" she asked his mother._

 _"Well, honestly I don't know." Mrs Blythe replied to the girl "did something happen this evening?"_

 _"No, nothing!" Ruby exclaimed confused, "we went to the movies, all the boys bought all the girls popcorn and drinks, but then Gilbert watched the film and he seemed quiet, then he wouldn't talk on the way home and he came in really sharpish, I was going to ask him if he was okay because we were talking before the movie." She tried explaining and she stopped thoughtfully "Mrs Blythe is he okay in general? Is something going on?"_

 _"Before I answer, can I ask what was the movie?" Mrs Blythe asked her._

 _"It was called 'A Fault in our Stars.'" Ruby said._

 _"And what was it about?" Mr Blythe asked._

 _"It was about two kids who had cancer..." she started to which Mrs Blythe gasped. "...I mean all the girls were crying but Gilbert seemed on the brink himself."_

 _Mrs Blythe thought carefully before she asked "Ruby is anyone waiting to take you home?" she asked the girl._

 _"No Mrs Blythe, I figured I could walk home from here."_

 _"I'll take you home." Mrs Blythe explained to her "but I need to tell you something first."_

 _That night his mother had explained everything to Ruby, in a way Gilbert was glad it was her to know first, she was certainly the most tactful and sweet of the popular group and by Monday Gilbert had known all his friends knew._

Gilbert was different. Gilbert was different because his dad had cancer. Gilbert, although by far was the most handsome boy in school would be in and out of school for four years, Although everyone cared about him and he knew they really did he wasn't interested in flirting or in the politics of being young. Everyone knew he didn't date (though for some it seemed like a challenge), he had been turning into a man but never had developed crushes or even looked at girls, his attendance at school was sporadic because of just how ill his father was. He looked and wondered at his friends at the time and he had longed for a couple of things in his life.

Someone he could really talk to.

Someone he could fall in love with.

Someone who could make him smile again.

He knew he was half a person, half a man with half a life, what he would do after high school was ridiculous. He'd be lucky to make it to university. But at each step it had seemed more and more possible to live out his dreams.

Upon return into high school for his junior year, life had handed him something unexpected, _someone_ unexpected, and with her with her, he had achieved so _so_ much.

He graduated co-valedictorian in High School. He was lucky enough for a football scholarship making university possible.

He had worked hard, became part of a fraternity and distinguished himself at the university and in the fraternity, he had been an exchange student, travelled and lived in New York for two years! His hard work paid off and the scholarship and living arrangements with the fraternity made it possible to go to medical school straight from college!

He was now in medical school, it was hard and another step towards his dreams but he was doing it!

Yet, in his heart he wondered, had Anne not come to Avonlea, would he be there? Would he have found the confidence to even apply to university?

It would have all been a very lonely journey if he had managed it, the two years they were apart was proof of that, it had nearly killed him being away from her, not getting his dosage of Anne, then when he had during those nearly two years it had been a bitter pill to swallow, he had sensed there was something wrong, he wished he could have helped or talked to her but he'd lost her.

He swallowed at the memory of loosing her of that feeling of aloneness, before he flipped down his sun shade and looked for a moment at the picture there in. The picture was one of them in high school, his arm around her posing at the prom. He smiled before returning his attention to the road.

Truth was, right now, now was his half way mark really. He'd done four years of undergraduate training and just completed his first year of medical school, that's five years. He had another three years as a medical school plus another 2 years for his family practice and residency.

This was his half way mark with Anne. They were a couple, they were happy, but they weren't physically active yet. No, not everything depended on it, he wasn't stupid enough to think that and they were a pompous couple, they were together they were happy, he could see himself sometime in the future marrying Anne, having children with Anne. He shook off the last thought quickly. He loved Anne, with all of him and he had to be sure, she knew she was loved, she knew she was respected, she knew she was safe. He smiled at the thought of her again.

He sighed heavily, and thought of the time they would be apart over the summer, he was shadowing in the hospital again, for all he wanted that dream of being a doctor, living the dream of being with Anne, wasn't half a temptation away from it.

Two and a half hours and he'd be home in her arms.

* * *

Anne stepped outside of work. Gilbert had been home from medical school for a month and they had a good time together. They had watched movies they had philosophised about life and current events, they had gone on hikes, they were even getting ready for camping up Hester's Hill. She had nothing to complain about.

Yet, realistically speaking, she couldn't help but think of the night at Easter. The one where they were so close to making love. She wished they could be like that again, did she have to get him drunk to have sex with him? Apparently that didn't even work with him. They had stayed over at each others houses, but between him working at the hospital, her working the day at the bookstore, he didn't seem inclined. She was getting very mixed messages and it was confusing her what could be wrong.

She sighed heavily as she heard her name being called behind her. She turned to see Diana coming towards her with her now three year old girl "Anne Cordelia" coming too.

"Aunty Anne!" Anne C ran to her aunt.

"Hello beautiful girl!" she smiled picking the girl up for a hug.

"Park Park?" Anne Cordy asked Anne.

"Oh Anne Cordy , Aunty Anne has been working all day!" Diana exclaimed.

"Its okay Diana." Anne smiled "I could use some time with my bosom friends." Anne replied with a smile.

"Yeay!" Anne Cordy exclaimed running ahead of them.

"No Gilbert today then?" Diana asked as they walked.

"No," Anne replied honestly "he's up at the hospital until midnight."

Diana couldn't help but notice as they walked Anne remained silent, it wasn't until they sat on the park bench and watched Anne Cordy playing that Diana broke the silence "Are you okay Anne? You're awfully quiet." Diana remarked.

"Me?" Anne asked. "I'm fine." She sighed. "Just..." she watched Anne Cordy for a moment before she said quietly "Diana, feel free not to tell me but, how long was it before Fred and you were intimate?" she asked.

"Oh well, I suppose..." she thought for a moment "it depends on how you see when we got together formally." She managed thinking back. "He asked me to go steady the March after the dance we'd only been casual before then, but we first got intimate when you and Gilbert went to that politics thing over the summer, well the June I suppose."

Anne let out a puff of air. "Oh." She said swallowing "About three months." She muttered.

"I suppose so." Diana replied.

"Roy was right then." She said getting up and pacing.

"Roy?" Diana questioned. "Anne what's going on?

Anne sighed again heavily before she said quietly "Gilbert and I haven't..." she blushed slightly before she looked away.

Diana's eyes went wide "No!" she gasped. "You and Gilbert! You've not..." she said quite loudly before she noticed and almost whispered "had sex yet?" she asked.

Anne shook her head, "and I wondering if there's something wrong with me, or... or with him, maybe he's said something to Fred?" Anne asked.

"No nothing," Diana said processing "I'm really surprised, I would have thought you two would get intimate really fast."

Anne sighed and sat down "I know." She admitted. "I mean we were really close before anyway, I mean before before, like the first two years of college we were close. That kind of close." She admitted. "And now, I mean its amazing to be with him and we are close and we do sleep in the same bed when we can, we do _stuff_ , you know and the _stuff_ is _gooood_ we just haven't actually..." Anne sighed heavily "what if he doesn't want me?" Anne asked her friend quietly.

"No," Diana said immediately "that's not it." She insisted. "He loves you he wants this, I mean you want it right?"

"Yes." Anne replied. "Of course I do!"

"Does he know that?" Diana asked.

"Yes!" Anne exclaimed "I tell him to keep on going, _he_ pulls away not me!"

Diana sighed and went quiet for a moment "its not the only important thing in a relationship." Diana finally remarked.

"I know, and its not." Anne replied. "Its just, it would be nice if it wasn't the _only_ thing not in the relationship." She said playing with the pearl bracelet on her arm.

* * *

A week later, they had been making out for at least and hour. His bed was crumpled beneath them Gilbert's shirt was unbuttoned Anne's hands underneath it her hands smoothing over his stomach and back, his hands likewise under her t shirt, their bare torsos touching every once in a while heating the encounter.

Anne's fingers tracked the hem of his jeans, without him noticing, she took a gasp and reached for the zip.

He took her hands in his and moved them away from his jeans, when he let go she went back to it where he did the same thing again.

Anne pulled back in frustration "What is the matter with you?!" She finally snapped.

He looked to her his eyes wide at her reaction.

"You know what, fine!" she reacted before he said anything getting up off the bed. "If you don't want me, that's fine, because you know who wants damaged goods right? Isn't that what they teach you in jocks school, god, I should have known you were just like everyone else." She finished muttering.

"I don't understand..." Gilbert started.

"Good, because neither do I!" she exclaimed.

"Anne..." he started.

"You don't want to have sex with me and that's just..."

"Of course I want to..." he started quite loudly but then quieten for his next sentence even though there was no one else in the house "have sex with you."

"Then what's wrong?!" she exclaimed starting to cry "why don't you _want_ me?"

He took a deep breath and sat up. "Want you?" he questioned. " _Want you_? I love you, I love you more then anything!" he said. "But _you_ can't be ready for _that_ yet Anne." He said to her.

"Not _ready_?" she questioned. "Not **_ready_**..." she exclaimed, she walked over to her purse and pulled out some pills.

He looked at them shocked then back at Anne "Those are birth control pills" he stated.

"I know what they are Gilbert!" she exclaimed ramming them back in her purse as she slipped her shoes on her feet.

"How... what... when?!" he stammered.

"I went on them just after new year." She explained her voice still quivering as she was still crying "I went on them because at Christmas whenever we made out, I wanted to go further, I wanted you to keep _going_ and _going_ and _going_ , and I realised I was **_ready_**! **You** , even after you had been at medical school most of the time, you turned me on and I _wanted_ to Gilbert, I _want_ to and I've practically been _throwing_ myself at you ever since and you keep moving away or going for a run or studying so I think you've made clear, where you want this relationship to go, so let me save you the trouble and I'll just leave and let... lets just forget it." She said picking up her (his lettermans jacket) jacket and left.

Gilbert swallowed his mind fussy from the encounter and certainly he couldn't run after her in his present state anyway.

She thought he didn't want her.

He hung his head closing his eyes for a moment before he calmed himself down. He took a deep breath getting off the bed, he knew what he had to do.

* * *

Anne stood outside Blythe Farm the next day. She looked at the building and bit into her lip. She knew yesterday Gilbert had got the backend of her temper, its why she was willing to come today when he texted.

 _Gil: Come to my place after work please? I think I need to explain myself._

She felt her phone buzz again so she looked at it.

 _Gil: Come in, up to my bedroom_.

Anne looked at the screen for a few seconds after reading it.

'He wants me in his room.' She thought sarcastically, 'well that's refreshing.'

She never the less stepped up the porch and opened the kitchen door, she looked down in amazement as she saw pink roses leading through the kitchen. She looked felt confused as she followed the trail through the kitchen into the hallway and up the stairs they led into his open door where she followed it and turned to where his bed was. She gasped at the sight in front of her.

The bed had fresh sheets on it with pink rose petals scattered across it, there was soft music playing in the background and the lights were dimmed in the room. On the bed side table there was a vase of more pink roses along with a bottle of wine and two glasses. She sighed at the sight her heart melting at it.

"The night you told me everything about what happened to you." She heard from behind her. She turned to see him standing there, dressed up in dress trousers, a shirt underneath a waist coat and a cravat at his neck, the sleeves were turned up in his shirt a little and he only had black socks on his feet. She looked at him a little shocked before he continued. "That night you asked me if we had got together 'all that time ago' would we of had sex by then," he recalled. "I told you not necessarily and you told me everything and it was then, in that moment I **swore** whatever happened, no matter what I would _protect_ you, I would save you from that pain." He told her. She watched him carefully as he crossed the room and took her by the hand "that included protecting you from me, from my passions." He admitted quietly. His eyes looked up to meet hers "see when you asked me if we would have had sex by then, I've been using it as a guide to tell me when you might be approaching ready, because had we got together the first time, we would have been together for almost a year and a half at that point." He told her nervously.

She took a deep sigh of relief her knees wobbling she sat on the end of the bed realising what had happened "Oh Gil," she whispered "you were trying to _control_ yourself."

He knelled in front of her taking her by her hands "It has been the hardest thing I've ever had to do." He whispered.

"You didn't _have_ to though." She said with a smile playing on her lips.

"Okay fine, the hardest thing I've ever had to _convince_ myself to do. I want you to know, I love you." He told her. "I love you more then the idea of sex." He said to her.

Anne grinned "The idea of?" she teased, "Not sex itself?"

"Well how would I know?!" he teased back with a grin which made her laugh. "I'll let you know once we've figured it out." He smiled "You really pushed my boundaries Anne Shirley, do you know that?" he said with a half smile kissing into her hands.

"You managed to resist me." She told him.

"No love." He whispered, "Do I really have to spell it out for you exactly why I needed leave the room quite so sharply on occasion?"

She looked up to his eyebrows raising. "Oh!" she exclaimed "You mean..." He chuckled nodding his head as she turned a sweet colour of pink. "Oh!" she exclaimed again.

He leaned forward into her hugging her tightly for a few minutes they stayed that way before he whispered "I could never loose you now, don't you see?" he asked her. "If I loose you, I loose everything, if I pushed I knew I would lose you." He whispered still. "I wanted it to be special. I've been worried you see, unnecessarily apparently, but I was worried about your past and not because I thought you were ' _damaged'_ in _that_ way, but because I never wanted to remind you of _him_." He looked up at her seriously "You've been on birth control since the new year?" he asked, to which he nodded with a small "So um, that appointment you had, wasn't for the dentist?"

She smiled and shook her head "it was for the doctor to get the pill." She said.

"Wow." He said with a smile and a blush "why didn't you just tell me?" he asked.

"It was womanly things..." she blushed

He let out a puff of amusement before he said to her "Anne, I want you to be able to talk to me about everything, all of it, its a normal and natural process and I don't want you going through it all alone, I want to be here and know, and did you ever think if I had known you were on birth control I might have picked up on the hints a bit better." He whispered to her.

"Just like you talked to me about our sexual relationship?" she counted.

He looked at her bemused "Touché."

"Why, _why_ did you not ask me if I was ready?"

"I thought we had the conversation already, you asked if we had got together 'all that time ago...'."

"That wasn't a conversations it was a hypothetical situation, and one where I needed your, not Roy's but _your_ reassurances." She said calmly. "it was different with you because we are in love, I didn't want sex with Roy because I knew deep down inside I didn't love him, maybe had we got together all that time ago, maybe things would have been different but I'm _incredibly ready_ for this Gil." He silently leaned in and kissed her gently round the neck, she sighed happily enjoying the kiss and she assured him, "You could never remind me of _him_ , Gil." She whispered "You are so full of _love_ , he, _he_ wasn't." She gasped "Oh Gil, all those horrible things I said to you, I'm so sorry, they have no place in reality."

"Why do you think I never wanted to remind you of him?" Gilbert asked her looking up at her. "I wanted it to be your choice, I never wanted you to feel forced." He said to her "it appears as though I was a bit too vigilant in my efforts." He told her "and made you feel as though you were being forced into not." Anne looked into his eyes as he moved her knees and knelled between them. He reached up and kissed her gently. "I'm sorry." He told her.

She smiled her eyes filling with tears this time out of happiness. "You don't need to be." She told him. "I'm sorry," she said shaking her head in shame "And I love you so much!." She told him throwing her arms around him.

"Anne." He whispered after a few moments of the hug pulling her back and looking at her. "I _want_ you." He told her "I want to make love to you." He continued before he kissed her lightly then said "Do you want to make love with me?"

She smiled, didn't say a word but simply nodded.

* * *

They stepped into the shower together neither one of them had bothered putting clothes on. The shower was hot and they smiled as the stood under it together. They hadn't spoken since, he only led her to the bathroom and turned on the shower.

They wrapped their arms around each other enjoying the closeness still. Anne hugged into his chest and said quietly "I'm too afraid to speak or move for fear all this wonderful beauty will just vanish like a broken silence."

He smiled and kissed into her neck "You don't need to." He whispered "we don't need words anymore to speak." He said to her.

She leaned back and looked up at him smiling "It does feel like that, doesn't it?" she said with a smile to which he nodded back.

"You are gorgeous!" he exclaimed feeling down her shoulders across her chest and torso. He kissed her again. "Anne," he whispered reverently.

She smiled feeling her fingers buzzing again. "We know now." She said looking up at him, "I'm glad it was you." She whispered to him. He looked down to her gently. "aren't you glad?" she asked him.

"I'm glad _for_ you." He told her taking her by the hands and kissing into them again. "I told you it didn't matter to me if you..." he trailed.

"...but aren't you glad, just a little bit?" She looked up at him innocently, "That you..." he reached down and kissed her deeply she wrapped herself around him he held her tighter. "You **_are_** glad?"

He smiled and nodded "I'm glad, and I'm um, glad you're glad." He told her with a blush he reached down and kissed her again. He looked at her again into her eyes "I've never felt this close to anyone before." He said to her "well even before we... even more now we've..." he trailed with a pink blush to his cheeks.

"I know." She agreed, she smiled looking up into his eyes. "I should have known, when I found _you_ I would find _me_ there." She whispered in his ear. The whisper caught his breath, He closed his eyes enjoying the feeling more. "And this, this, extending the intimacy." She said with a smile.

"We can stay, intimate for a while." He said to Anne "my parents are gone _all_ weekend." He said with a smile.

"Oh _all_ weekend?" she flirted.

He shrugged and smiled at her flirting. "If you'd like?" he asked her.

She smiled as he kissed into her shoulder "I'd like. Except Sunday." She said seriously.

He looked at her confused for a moment before he asked "Are you suddenly so deeply religious that you can't miss church on Sunday for a weekend of sin?" he teased her.

She laughed and playfully slapped him. "No!" she said rolling her eyes. "The picnic silly!" she exclaimed "we said we'd be there."

"Righhhtt." He agreed nodding his head. "Well," he said with a shrug, "that still gives us plenty of time." He said grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"It does." She smiled back where he lifted her slightly against the wall of the shower bringing her closer to him. She looked into his eyes, both with a glint of mischief in their eyes they kissed excitingly entwining themselves in each other.


	49. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 13

Hey folks,

Thanks so much for the words of encouragement when you all review! Its always so exciting to read them and I know I'm a little sporadic in posting but I do have other things I do which has had to take priority. but along with it its not 1am in the morning and I can't sleep... so I came down to do this... one day... I'll get a descent nights sleep... honest!

* * *

He opened the gate for her letting her go through the gate before he followed her through closing it behind him. His arm went around her keeping her close by his side.

"I feel so far away from you." Anne whispered to him.

He smiled with a glint in his eyes and whispered back "Its all these clothes." He flirted, which she chuckled in response.

"Best keep them on though," she replied cleverly, "its somewhat frowned upon to be quite so scantly clad as we have been."

"In polite society." He said quickly back before they were greeted by Fred.

"Gilbert, Anne." He smiled. "Its good to see you Gil." He told his best friend. "How's school I haven't seen you all summer, between you being at the hospital and being with your mrs...?" he asked him.

"Oh, its going well." Gilbert smiled.

"Is he being humble again?" Fred asked Anne.

"Oh you know Gilbert. Understatement thy name is Gil." Anne replied.

"Well if its all the same to you I don't want to be here to talk shop all the time."

"Oh Good." Diana said who had been approaching a nearby table with a bowl of punch in her hands but upon seeing Anne and Gilbert speaking to Fred had changed her course to meet them. "We might have a chance of understanding what you're talking about." Diana smiled.

"Let me take that." Gilbert said taking the punch bowl from her, Fred followed Gilbert to the table while Diana and Anne stood still for a moment before they slowly followed the boys.

"So?" Diana asked realising the blush and Anne's cheeks.

Anne bit her bottom lip and nodded her head with a grin on her face, to which Diana squealed and hugged her "Oh Anne!" she exclaimed "Oh I can't believe it but I can!" she said hurried "Oh Anne! Gilbert Blythe!" she swooned.

"Diana Wright!" Anne exclaimed "You're acting like we're in high school!" She continued "and I've slept with the most handsome most elite jock..." she trailed slowly realising that she had in fact done just that, "well alright maybe I did, but we're not in high school anymore and you're married." Anne said to her with a laugh which only made Diana giggle and linked arms with Anne. "to a different jock, might I add, and he's not so bad himself." Anne pointed out.

"Oh I love Fred and you know I do." Diana told her straight. "But come on Anne, it's Gilbert," Diana exclaimed "Gilbert!"

Anne chuckled and rolled her eyes "This is why I could never admit to liking him in high school."

Diana rolled her eyes and told her straight "You fooled no one Anne."

Anne looked at her for a moment then shrugged "no, I suppose not."

"Well," Diana continued "maybe a little while." Diana admitted "but something happened, slowly." She grinned "I think he wormed his way into your affections."

"Wormed." Anne sighed, "it was never that." She smiled.

"So..." Diana asked. "What was _it_ like?"

Anne thought before she replied. She had no doubt that over the last three days Gilbert had been deliberately gentle with her, not that he needed to be, Anne had enjoyed his ministrations, her stomach fluttered at the memory of his lips so gently skimming her skin there. "Beautiful." Anne admitted, "he was, is..." she smiled in a way which Diana knew was in love.

"Oh my goodness!" Diana swooned "I'm so happy for you!"

Anne smiled before they were interrupted.

"Oh Miss Stacy!" Diana exclaimed hugging the older lady "You came!"

"Well how could I not, see so many of my current students and pass students all in one go." Miss Stacy smiled.

Diana's name was called from somewhere behind them, where she excused herself from her present company leaving Anne and Miss Stacy alone.

"How are you Anne?" Miss Stacy asked her.

"I'm very well, thank you." Anne said with a smile to her old principle. "I'm sorry, I feel like its been years since I last saw you," Anne admitted "it must have been..." Anne wondered.

"The summer after Diana's wedding." Miss Stacy confirmed. "I understood at that point you were with someone..." she looked over at Gilbert for a moment before her eyes flicked back to Anne.

"It was never right." She shook her head. "I could never tell him everything." She said in reflection.

"And Gilbert? You've been together for..."

"Eleven months." Anne clarified.

Miss Stacy nodded. "Does he know everything Anne?" she asked seriously.

Anne smiled and nodded. "I told him before it was even possible for us to be together, " Anne said quietly, "and he was perfect about it," she said in a quiet reverence. "I could always trust him with everything." Anne said with a smile to her old teacher "but then I think Miss Stacy you saw that," Anne said as her teachers face turned to a grin "Even in those detentions, you knew Gilbert."

"And I knew you Anne, well I hoped I did." Miss Stacy admitted. "I hoped you could help heal each other."

"Were you match making?!" Anne laughed.

"Maybe a little," she admitted "I must admit I'm glad I was right."

"I'm glad..." Anne started, paused and said "I'm glad we had that time together, all those early moments where I wasn't sure of myself, never mind another person, you gave me the friend I needed and later the boyfriend I needed." And she smiled there "and wanted." Anne took a breath and paused before she said "actually Miss Stacy, could you help me with something?" Anne asked her.

* * *

The picnic over, both Gilbert and Anne had barely touched based the whole time, they had spent very little time together for the duration, but both enjoying the time they spent with their Avonlea friends.

"Its so good isn't it?" Anne said to Gilbert as they walked through the woods again. "That we have such good friends and that we weren't joined at the hip but we enjoyed other people's company too." She said to him.

"It is." Gilbert agreed "though I must admit I wanted to be joined with you by the hips." He flirted, Anne looked up to him and smiled a blush.

"Me too." She told him.

"Did you tell Diana?" Gilbert asked her to which she looked up at him confused "I thought you might."

"What did you tell Fred?" Anne asked him.

"They assumed months ago." Gilbert shrugged, "I think if Mr Wright speaks to Mrs Wright he might get the right picture but Charlie and Moody would never believe it." He said to her "I've never corrected them, I didn't really see it as their business."

"Its not." Anne confirmed. "Anyway its our delight not theirs." She smiled.

He grinned widely before he looked to her in a blissful silence as the walked, he held her a little closer and whispered to her "Our delight."

* * *

Upon arriving back home Gilbert took Anne to his bedroom again, their clothes were quickly disregarded, their bodies pressed, Gilbert lips were pressed into Anne's neck, he was already pressed into her when Anne seemed distracted by something.

"Anne?" he asked her.

"Did you hear something?" Anne asked him.

He stopped for a moment and wondered before he shook his head "no." He said returning himself to her neck, she started to relax, one hand playing with his curls and the other laid at above her head she had just relaxed again when she heard something again.

"Gilbert?" they heard from the bottom of the stairs.

"Mom!" Gilbert whispered as he shot up off the bed, shocking Anne at his sudden movement away from her. "Sorry love." He said returning to her for a moment kissing her quickly "I can't have her finding us like this!" he said as Anne blushed a pretty pink. He found a robe and wrapped it around himself before leaping to the door opening it. Anne could hear the conversation on the other side of the door.

"Hey Mom." He said closing the door slightly. "You're home early." He said casually.

"The show was fantastic but I really had very little interest in roving about a huge city." She told him "we took a drive round all the country lanes and villages, even visited some, stayed in little bed and breakfasts and came home."

Gilbert smiled "Well I'm glad you had a good time." He managed.

"You in your PJ's already son, a little early for you isn't it?" she asked him. "Its half five in the afternoon."

"Well it was meant to be a relaxing afternoon." He tried still casually.

"Well, maybe we can leave you a little longer then," she continued "I saw this beautiful dress in the city which I thought would look beautiful on Anne, your pap and I can walk up to Green Gables and show her it." His mother tried to move away.

"Oh, um, well..." he said flustered. "she's here." He said closing his eyes knowing his mother would catch on.

"Oh?!" His mother exclaimed a grin breaking across her face "Oh!" she repeated as her son's eyes opened looking at his mother. "Are you both safe?" she whispered.

His mouth played at a smile and he whispered back "We've got it covered." He smiled.

She looked up at him her hand touching his face softly and she smiled proudly at him. "You know me and your pap should go to the evening service at church." She told him "I think we'll go for a walk." She smiled before she called "Hello Anne."

"Hello Mrs Blythe." They heard from the other side of the door.

"Did you hear, I saw a beautiful dress I thought you might like?" she called.

"Yes Mrs Blythe." Anne replied.

"When better disposed perhaps we might look at it together." She called.

There was a little pause before Anne replied "Yes, Mrs Blythe, thank you."

With that his mother walked down the hallway and walked down the stairs.

Gilbert opened his door and shut it behind him, he looked at Anne who had covered herself in his blanket. "I think she knows." Gilbert joked, which made Anne burst into giggles as he crossed the room and sat on the bed next to her. "They're going to church." He remarked as she hugged in next to him. "To pray for our eternal souls, I think ironically so we could..." he trailed and shook his head.

Anne giggled and kissed into his neck gently before she admitted "I don't think we're in the right place for that now." She grinned.

"No." Gilbert admitted. "Though, I suppose we'll have to get used to the potential of interruption, at least when we're in Avonlea." He said logically. She looked up at him and nodded in agreement.

"Maybe it'll leave more time for us to be sociable with other people and with each other, you know so we don't just have sex all the time." She whispered.

He let out a puff of air and remarked "Do we have to?" he asked her and with a wink.

She sighed heavily and said "I can't believe it was only Friday." She told him "I feel like its been this way forever."

"Only when we were in love." He told her.

She looked up to him and smiled "So basically from day one?" she asked him.

"Basically yeah." He agreed with a grin. "but then I'm glad its happened now." He admitted. "it was right this way." He said to her "definitely in love." He said to her.

Anne looked up into his hazel eyes and 'awed.' "Me too." She told him. "I'm in love with you too."

"Can I ask you something?" he asked her.

"Anything." She confirmed.

"Did I hurt you at all, any of the times, but particularly the first, did I hurt you?"

She looked at him and shook her head. "my first time..." she said with a smile "was the best, I mean in my experience..." she said with a grin.

"You mean all seven times?" he asked.

"but that's just it, I mean I know it takes practice..."

Anne!" he exclaimed slightly insulted.

"But that's what I _mean_!" she told him. "You were considerate of me, you kept checking that what you were doing was what I wanted, Diana said today that her first time with Fred was awkward and some of it was embarrassing, but they got 'the hang of it'." She said with a smile "I feel as though as wonderful and as better practiced the other six times were, that first time..." she said with a smile "I didn't feel any embarrassment, awkwardness or distance from you, I felt closer, I felt..." she shook her head "no I could just stay naked with you, I didn't want to get dressed, I wanted to stay with you forever."

He smiled at her and said "well my first time." He said as if they were sharing a secret with each other "was with this really really hot girl."

"Oh really?" she asked.

"Yeah." He smiled "Honestly I think she ruined me for other women." He said with a bottom lip out thinking.

Anne giggled into his robe before she whispered "Hey, did your mom actually ask if we were using protection?" she asked him. To which Gilbert nodded with a blush. "What if I hadn't been on the pill?" Anne asked him curiously, to which he pulled out a box of condoms from his bed side table.

"I bought them a month into us dating." He told her simply.

She looked at the packet and seal "they're still sealed." Anne smiled.

"Um, who else am I having sex with?!" he teased her. "I have another packet in the draw in Kingsport." He admitted.

"Won't they go out of date?" she asked him.

"Well I assumed we'd be ready for sex in the next five years." He said with a grin.

"Oh?" she asked surprised at just how long the use by date was, "Yes I suppose we would be." She said with a puff of relief she opened the box and nodded, the expiration date was just short of four years. "Did they show you how to use one of these in sex ed?" she asked him innocently. He looked to her amazed before she reached for the belt of his robe "Maybe, if we're really quiet..." she flirted.

Before he playfully pinned her to the bed.

* * *

"I am so glad we are going out tonight!" Anne exclaimed as she locked her car. Diana had been sitting beside her in the passenger seat, Josie and Ruby has sat in the back.

"I haven't had a 'girls night out' in such a long time!" Diana exclaimed linking arms with Anne.

"Its always nice to catch up with the girls." Ruby exclaimed joining in linking with the others.

"And its just us girls." Josie added finally joining the group.

"We're all so busy nowadays, we barely even see each other at vacations." Anne smiled.

"If we can pry you away from Gilbert!" Ruby teased.

"Amen to that!" Diana laughed from beside her.

"Oh now come on we're not that bad!" Anne exclaimed before Josie snorted, "Are we?" she asked.

"I heard that atoms spilt easier then you two do." Diana teased which made everyone laugh.

"I think its sweet." Ruby said softly. "He was always so lonely until he met you." She said.

"Oh come on," Anne tried "He must have dated?" Anne asked.

"You haven't been through this with him?" Josie asked.

"Oh, um well, I know he didn't have any serious girlfriends, but dating is different, isn't it? I mean you can casually date someone without being girlfriend and boyfriend." She said "Can't you?"

"Oh well he was sociable enough." Ruby thought, "but very infrequently 'took' a girl places."

"The closest to that was Josie." Diana reflected.

"When I pushed myself on him?" Josie asked. "That's not casual dating."

"Did you kiss?" Diana asked.

"Gilbert was an expert in avoiding kissing." Josie huffed. "Is he good at least?" Josie asked Anne.

"Oh yes, juice up!" Ruby asked. "I always imagined he'd be deep, slow and steady."

"No," Josie disagreed "Fast and furious, all that testosterone built up."

"Really?" Diana asked. "I thought he'd be handsie!"

"Diana!" Anne exclaimed "This is my boyfriend you're all discussing!" She said giggling.

"And we've _all_ fantasied." Josie teased her. "But you get the real deal."

"So spill." Ruby added.

Anne was quiet for a moment as she took a deep breath and shook her head. "Gilbert is..." she paused and said quietly "All of it, depending on his mood, on how we need to be, you know in company, or not." She added. "but then there's time when we're together and he just pulls back and looks at me, and its so intense and adoringly and he doesn't just kiss me on the lips, he'll kiss me on the forehead or the nose and he make me feel..." she sighed and whispered "adored." The other girls stopped and looked at Anne with smirks on their faces. "What?!" Anne asked them.

"So its intense? Even in the little kisses?!" Josie asked.

"Wow." Ruby swooned "Now _that is_ Gilbert!"

"Ruby!" Anne exclaimed "What about Spencer?"

"Come on Anne! Its Gilbert!" she sighed "Dreamy."

Anne chuckled and shook her head. "Why did I have to date a jock?" she muttered.

"Oh come on, we all wish he our firsts!" Josie added.

"Josie!" Diana blushed.

"Oh come on!" Josie said "It would have been better then Clark Mosby." Josie teased her.

"Clark?" Anne asked looking at Diana who blushed more "No!" Anne exclaimed. "You mean Fred wasn't your first?!"

"Technically Clark and I never had sex." Diana blushed "We just did other stuff." She blushed. "So _technically_ Fred was my first."

"Oh I'm sure he's flattered on a technicality!" Josie laughed.

"Oh come on!" Diana blushed "better then Andy and Mark, and..."

"Charlie." Josie finished for her. Anne looked at her for a moment for explanation. "Andy was a senior and I was a freshman." She shrugged "what was I meant to say? We were together the whole school year, " she paused before she said "and Mark was in sophomore year and only once after he turned out to be an idiot."

"Mark?" Ruby asked. "You slept with Mark before me?"

"Oh, yeah..." Josie trailed "He asked me never to tell you that."

Diana looked at Ruby "I thought Spencer was your first!"

"No, but it has only been the two of them." Ruby said quietly. "What about you Anne?" Ruby enquired "Was it Roy or someone before you came to Avonlea?"

Anne took a deep breath, with a bite in her cheek "No, not Roy." She said quietly "Just Gil."

They all stopped and looked at her for a moment "Just Gil?" Ruby sighed romantically.

"That's so sweet!" Josie squealed.

"How come you never did with Roy?" Ruby asked her "I mean he was very handsome!"

Anne smiled "Roy is indeed very handsome," Anne acknowledged "its just we couldn't get all that close, he was pushing to get closer and I was pulling away because..." she trailed as Josie interrupted

"You were in love with Gil all along." Josie added "Don't deny it."

"I won't." Anne sighed in relief, truth be told in part it was one of the reasons.

"First loves are so intense aren't they?" Diana said thoughtfully.

"I couldn't get over mine." Anne said with a smile.

"Wow!" Ruby sighed "You're so luck Anne!"

Anne chuckled as they got to the front of the queue to the club. "Right ladies, looks like we've arrived." She smiled.

"Are you sure you're okay with not drinking?" Josie asked her.

Anne smiled "I'm sure, I'm not a big fan of it, besides, who said you need alcohol to have a good night out with friends."

"Amen!" Diana agreed.

"Now, no more boy talk," Anne said strictly. "Tonight is an all girls night!"

"Woohhoo!" Ruby exclaimed.

* * *

They danced for a while before Anne found them a table and they stopped for a drink.

"Nice club!" Ruby called to them.

"The music is good too!" Josie called taking a sip of her drink. "Um, Anne good choice." She said.

"Sex on the beach." She told Josie "Still felt weird ordering them." She said.

Josie looked to Ruby and Diana who were engrossed in their own conversation before she asked Anne carefully "Are you and Gilbert... intimate?" She asked Anne.

"Um, yeah." Anne confirmed.

Josie took a sigh and asked sensitively "Does he know?" Josie asked her.

Anne looked at her wide eyed before she excuse Josie and her as they went to 'freshen up'.

In the bathroom, Anne checked the stalls before she asked "How can you know?" Anne asked confused. "who told you... I mean Gil wouldn..." she started.

"No, no, it wasn't Gil." Josie started.

"Did, did Gil tell Charlie?" she asked.

"No, come on Gil wouldn't tell Charlie!" Josie shook her head. "It was my psychological class at college." She started. Anne took a deep breath of relief as Josie continued "in order to do the physical side of things they teach us the psychological side too, but they teach us to look for signs of abuse, you know in case there is a reason, you know psychological reason for them not to be healing physically, and a few things, they rang true to you, or at least you at high school," She said. "I knew neither Matthew and Marilla would, and then what happened, or at least what you told me of Roy..." she trailed. "So I'm right?"

Anne nodded looking down at the floor.

"You don't have anything to be ashamed of," Josie told her "and I won't ever tell anyone, I promise." Josie explained. "Then again I don't know what kind of abuse it was so, but I'm guessing, I just, I wanted you to know, you could talk to me, if you need someone other then Gilbert." Josie said with a smile. Anne looked up at Josie and smiled a little. "Gil would never tell Charlie that!"

"I know." Anne said. "Why do you think I was so confused?" Anne asked.

"You never told Diana?" Josie asked to which she shook her head. "Well..." She looked to Anne and said "You know how I knew you were still in love with Gilbert when you were with Roy?" she asked her.

"I don't know everyone seems to think it was obvious." Anne muttered.

"Well hindsight is a very subjective thing." Josie said drily. "No, I knew because of that bracelet you have on tonight."

"My pearl one?" she asked Josie, "but I never take it off." She said "like my necklace."

"Oh, you took off the necklace." Josie observed, "I'm guessing Roy didn't like it so you took it off to please him, but you always had on a watch and that pearl bracelet," she said with a smile "Gilbert gave you that bracelet."

"I know." Anne said quietly.

"By keeping it on, even when you weren't talking you were confirming that he still meant more to you then real pearls."

"He does." Anne confirmed "and yes, he always did." Anne looked to Josie and smiled "So..." Anne said turning towards the mirror pretending to check her makeup "Are you and Charlie on or off at the moment?" Anne asked her.

"Off." Josie said shaking her head "longest time yet, three months." Josie confirmed, "I don't think things will ever..." she shook her head.

"So, there's been no one since? I mean in the off bits?" she asked.

"No." Josie admitted. "I do love him, its just..." she shook her head "I don't know, trust plays a huge part of it now." She shared with Anne.

"Josie..." Anne started before someone came into the bathroom. Anne looked to Josie who simply smiled.

"I know." Josie said looking at Anne for a moment before they hugged. "come on, they'll be wondering where we went."

* * *

They all drank and danced some more, when Anne suggested they go some place to eat. The girls agreed on the bases that alcohol on a empty stomach was always a bad idea. It was then when they were walking towards fast food chicken that they saw.

Josie stopped and gasped her eyes filling with tears before she turned and walked away.

"Josie wait!" Ruby called after it as she ran down the street after her, Diana turned and went after them before at the sound of Josie's name Charlie came up for air from the girl he was making out with.

Anne's face stuck with determination marched over to Charlie and she looked at the girl "Hi, I'm Anne, do you know Charles here?"

"Um, we only just met tonight. I'm Sarah." The girl admitted. "Do you know Charlie?" she asked.

"Yes, I do, since high school." Anne confirmed. "He has serious commitment issues, he likes to line up food and drink in perfect little lines in the fridge, he irons his underwear and he likes to correct you if you use grammar incorrectly."

The girl looked confused at Anne before she asked "are you an ex-girlfriend?"

Anne smiled "no," Anne admitted "and admit it, the fact I know those things and I'm not an ex, doesn't that make him so much more attractive?" Anne said with a smirk.

"Bye." The girl said untangling herself from Charlie and running down the street quickly.

Charlie turned to Anne annoyed "What the hell Anne!?" he exclaimed.

"Don't you what the hell me Charles Sloane!" Anne snapped back "Josie is still hung up on you!"

"We broke up again!" Charlie said "Did she miss that bit out!?"

"No she didn't!"

"So we've broken up and I'm seeing other girls, what's wrong with that!"

"How many?!" Anne demanded.

"Excuse me that's none of your business!" he told Anne.

"She hasn't!" Anne exclaimed

"Then she needs to move on!" Charlie told her.

"Is that what you're doing?!" Anne asked.

"I have needs!" He told Anne.

"You have issues!" Anne exclaimed "Do you love her?"

"What's her face?" Charlie asked looking confused down the street.

"Sarah, her name was Sarah!" Anne exclaimed "And no, I meant Josie!"

"Yes!" he argued back.

"Then why aren't you making it work with her Charles?!" Anne demanded.

Charlie looked at Anne then at the floor, "I can't make it work." He shrugged "alright?" he asked Anne. "So I'm doing what we're meant to at our age, right? I mean are we meant to be with just one person..."

"You're not meant to be with hundreds!" Anne exclaimed.

Charlie looked annoyed for a moment before he started to walk away but then stopped. "Four." He told Anne.

"Excuse me?" Anne asked him.

"Since Josie and I have been so on and off again, over then past year or so, apart from Josie, there's been four others."

Anne looked at him and asked quietly "does Josie know?" she asked.

Charlie shrugged and shook his head.

"Look," Anne said softly "if you love Josie, which I think you do, maybe you should start again, date her, get to know her again." Anne said with a sigh "she's pretty terrific."

"I know she is." Charlie told her.

Anne sighed "I better go, I'm the only one not drinking, I'm the driver, so..." Anne said annoyed "Do you have a drive home?" Anne asked him.

Charlie sighed "I have a motel room booked." He told her. "I'll drive back tomorrow when I'm not..." he swallowed and looked at Anne. "Keep her away from burgers after she's been drinking, she'll say she can handle it but she's sick every time." He told her.

"Chicken it is." Anne said with a nod.

"No one?" Charlie asked Anne to which she nodded and he hung his head a little "Guess I seem like a jerk now." He said lowly.

"You're an idiot." Anne said to him but then looked up "but its no different to any other heartbroken man." She continued "You've never been a jerk Charles." Anne said to him "just be yourself, instead of who you think you should be." Anne assured him "you're quite the catch yourself when you are."

* * *

Anne slid into bed, putting her arm around Gilbert he stirred and turned over.

"How was boys night?" Anne asked him.

Gilbert smiled and shrugged "Not as good as us night." He admitted. "Davy liked being a man for the night, he didn't even object when I came to sleep in here."

Anne smiled "I'm glad." She said. "I am so tired." She said as he lay flat on his back and she cuddled in "Josie worked out I was abused before I came to green gables." Anne said quietly which made Gilbert sit up slightly. "No, no, its okay." Anne admitted "she figured it out from her classes at uni." Anne confirmed, "and she covered by back with the others a couple of times to distract from the facts." Gilbert lay quietly as Anne said "she was so sweet about it, she's changed so much from the Josie she was at high school."

"Good." Gilbert said quietly. "I'm glad she's on our side."

"Charlie been with other girls in the off bit of their relationship." Anne said quietly.

"He what?" Gilbert asked "Oh Charles!" he scoffed.

Anne sighed and said "Was I too hard on Roy?" Anne asked him.

"No." Gilbert said shaking his head "Anne its not the same thing."

"Isn't it? Roy thought we were broken up."

"And he had sex every single time, He was cheating, cheating and your on and off again was whenever he had sex and felt guilty he'd come back to you." Gilbert whispered. "Charlie isn't like Roy."

"I suppose." Anne admitted before she snuggled up to Gilbert "I'm glad we're so different to all that, I'm glad, I think, one day maybe, we could..." she blushed.

"What?" Gilbert asked her in the darkest night the silence was almost deafening.

"Get married one day, be like Di and Fred, like not exactly like Fred and Di but married, our own marriage..." she trailed before he squeezed her.

"Yeah?" he asked her.

"Yeah." She confirmed. "Yeah?" she asked him.

He smiled into the darkness and kissed into her hair. "Yeah." He confirmed.


	50. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 14

Gilbert looked out over the valley and took a deep breath. "You know there's no where better I can think of to camp." He smiled taking off his camping backpack and dropping the tent beside him. Anne came and stood beside him looking out over the valley. "It is beautiful." She agreed. "You know Mrs Lynde asked why we would go camping not three miles from home, she practically accused us of being hippies." Anne laughed.

"How could we not?" he asked her. "Especially with your brand new double sleeping bag." He said putting his arm around her and winking.

She laughed "I thought sharing body heat would keep us warmer." She said practically.

"Now that's the spirit." He flirted which made Anne laugh again.

"We need a good shot of the view." She smiled as he stood behind her wrapping his arms around her stomach "But soft enough ground to put the pegs into."

"And not so close to the edge that we fall down the side of the hill in the morning." He chuckled.

"And close enough to the camp fire." She said. "Which should be there." She said point to the area they often made a fire in with a handy now fallen tree which had fallen in the last winter wind blow.

"Agreed." He concurred. "The tent there?" he asked her pointing just beside it but far enough away that the tent was in no danger, to which she nodded.

"Have you always had your tent?" she asked him.

Gilbert nodded "my pap bought me it when I was eleven, said every lad should have one." He smiled "I loved camping not that I got to use it much when he was sick but yeah, I always thought one day I'd like to take my son..." he came to a sudden stop at what he said "I mean, um..." he tried.

She smiled "I knew you wanted kids, remember?" Anne stated and shrugged, he looked to her wide eyed and worried for a moment before she said "Come on we told each other everything back in the day." She confirmed. "I told you I wanted kids too, remember?"

He broke into a smile "Really? I mean, you'd want them... with me?" he asked her.

"Yeah." She confirmed, "I mean not right now, but sometime in the near future, you know I don't think its impossible..." she smiled.

He grinned and confirmed "Good, I'm glad."

"So you always thought you'd bring _our_ son camping?" Anne finished for him.

"Yeah." He said again getting the tent out the bag. "I mean, I suppose it was stupid really thinking it, I was quite young to be thinking about a family really."

"No," Anne thought outloud "It shows a seriousness in mind which a lot of boys lack."

He smiled "you mean the kind which calls girls names and pull at their hair?" he asked.

"I'll never understand why you did it, its so out of character for you." Anne remarked.

"I _wanted_ your attention!" he said bemused. "Imagine how it might have been of you had swooned at my wink."

Anne gave a heavy sigh and said "then I would have proved I was just like any other girl in the school." She swallowed before she admitted "that wasn't the first time I saw you."

"In the corridor?" he asked her surprised to which she nodded.

"I was sitting on the bench with Diana just outside the door." She admitted "You looked so focused on getting to the door and you just stopped."

He grinned and remembered "I was composing myself." He smiled "making sure my jock front was on, that I was mentally prepared for what was on the other side of the door."

"You looked sad." Anne admitted.

"I was." He said then looked at her playfully "I hadn't met you yet."

Anne smiled reaching over and kissing him briefly "I couldn't take my eyes off you." She blushed.

"Well the moment I wasn't as self absorbed as I was in entering that corridor, I couldn't take my eyes off you either." He smiled.

"I'm glad..." she started before she thought for a moment "I'm glad you never gave up on me." She admitted.

He smiled widely at the compliment then said "come on, lets get this tent up."

* * *

"The big dipper." He said with a smile. The fire was cackling beside them as they lay on the ground, Gilbert on his back, Anne hugged into his side looking up in the night sky with him, enjoying the facts on the stars but enjoying the sound of his voice more. "The big Dipper has two parts – a bowl and a handle. Notice the two outer stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper. They are called Dubhe and Merak, and an imaginary line drawn between them goes to Polaris, the North Star. That's why Dubhe and Merak are known in skylore as _The Pointers."_

She smiled and asked "What are the other stars called?" she asked.

"Phad, Megrez, Alioth, Mizar and Alkaid." He said pointing them all out as he went. "In ancient times, the Little Dipper formed the wings of the constellation Draco the Dragon. But when the seafaring Phoenicians met with the Greek astronomer Thales around 600 B.C., they showed him how to use the Little Dipper stars to navigate. Thereby, Thales clipped Draco's wings, to create a new constellation that gave Greek sailors a new way to steer by the stars. In Thales's day, the stars Kochab and Pherkad (rather than Polaris) marked the approximate direction of the _north celestial pole_ – the point in the sky that is directly above the Earth's North Pole. To this day, Kochab and Pherkad are still known as the _Guardians of the Pole_."

Anne smiled at what he was saying and said reverently "You know them as you do friends Gil."

He smiled and shrugged "When I was little I didn't quite get the idea that Star Trek was in the future..." he started.

"Or fictional..." Anne inserted.

"And I was determined to know the stars in the sky to help me get into the academy." He said with a chuckle which made Anne laugh.

"Oh my cutie little geeky." She said squeezing into his side more.

He blushed and said quietly "Don't make fun of me."

"No!" Anne objected, "No don't take it like that!" she told him sitting up slightly and looking down into his eyes "I happen to think geek is chic." She told him before he laughed "no, no seriously geek is chic, smart is sexy, really really..." she said taking her fingers, slipping under his t-shirt under his stomach and smoothing along the waistband of his jeans, which made him gasp in delight "really sexy." She said lying beside him looking up at him with big eyes.

"I believe you." He gasped out.

"And you are unbelievably attractive." She whispered in his ear. "I love you." She said softly "and you know I'm as big of a geek as you are." She said settling her hand on his stomach

He looked up at the sky again and said "they were my friends." He admitted. "The only ones I really had for a long time."

"But Charlie, Fred and the others?" Anne asked her fingers now playing around on his stomach.

"Don't get me wrong, they were all friendly and supportive when they could be." He trailed.

"When they could be." She repeated quietly, her hand now resting again on his stomach.

"You were technically the first person I told that my dad had cancer." He admitted quietly. "My mother let Ruby know who told everyone else." Gilbert confirmed "I'm glad it was Ruby." He told her "she's really the most gentle of everyone, well except maybe Diana but we weren't really close before you came along." He smiled and whispered to her "You changed everything." He smiled.

"Me?" she asked "really?"

"Yeah," he told her holding her in close "you came and made it all better." He whispered. "I never would have been as happy in high school without you."

Anne smiled and kissed him gently "You too." She replied. "You are my best friend you know."

"You're mine." He confirmed smiling as they cuddled down together under the stars.

* * *

Anne felt a movement beside her in the sleeping bag beside her and a warm arm wrap around her stomach and a cold nose snuggle into her sternum, followed by a relaxed 'hum' his legs wrapping around hers cuddling into her.

"Happy Anniversary." She heard him whisper.

"Happy Anniversary." She smiled turning to face him completely in the sleeping bag.

"I can't believe its been a year already." He smiled sleepily.

"It feels..." she thought for a moment and said slowly "Longer, and shorter at the same time..." she chuckled "does that make sense?" she asked.

"Yeah." He agreed. "Its because we're kindred." He smiled.

"My soulmate." She smiled. "Do you remember, years ago when I was reading your ancestors diary and we talked about what a soulmate was, you said they weren't born but chosen."

"I remember." He smiled sleepily.

"I choose you, I mean I think we were born to be with each other, but I pick you, regardless." She told him.

"I've had time to think through it." He admitted. "I'm starting to think that we could make it work with a kindred spirit, you know, but your soulmate is the one you'd pick beyond everyone else." He sighed and said quietly "it had to be you."

She smiled and said back "it had to be you."

"You want to know something strange?" he asked her.

"Sure."

My great great grandma, the one who wrote the diary, her first name was Anne." He smiled and looked down at her.

"Anne- with an 'e'?" she asked.

"She was insistent, apparently." He smiled.

"Good for her." She smiled and a look of recognition came across her face. "Your great great grandpa named Gilbert fell in love with a red haired girl called Anne?" she questioned.

"Talk about history repeating itself." He chuckled, which received a chuckle in response. "Bet they didn't do this before they were married." He flirted, which received a laugh.

"I can think of a few other things they wouldn't have done." She flirted back.

His eyebrows raised his eyes opened to find a very flirty Anne looking at him.

"Anne-" he started to exclaim but was cut off by her lips planting firmly on his.

* * *

"Anne what are we doing here?" Gilbert asked her as he was rowing the boat towards the ill fated bridge. "Everyone else has gone to the coast it so hot today being inland seems silly."

"We're here because no one else will be." Anne said with a smile. "And anyway you got to bring your picnic for later for the surprise location, I want to surprise you." She smiled. As they approached the bridge she instructed him "tie the boat to the bridge." She told him.

He held the bridge slowing the boat to a stop "To the bridge...?" he questioned.

"Yes, to the bridge."

"Why?" he asked.

"Because then it won't float away."

"Float away?" he questioned but still followed her instructions tying the boat to the bridge, "why would it float away?"

"because..." she said grabbing hold of the pillar making Gilbert yelp helplessly at her.

"What are you doing?!" he exclaimed at her action.

"You told me, you had a fantasy about me and you and what you wanted to do to me that day you rescued me." He swallowed watching her for a moment before she continued "so..." she flirted.

"You're insane, you can't even swim." He informed her as if she didn't know.

"Its okay, you'd never let me drown." She said as a matter of fact.

Gilbert felt as though he could melt right there. He looked wide eyed at her for a moment before he grabbed the pillar behind her lowering himself into the water with her. "Okay, what now?" he asked her.

"You tell me." She flirted "its your fantasy." She smiled.

Gilbert blushed "Anne..." he whispered.

"What was I like, seventeen year old Gilbert? What was I like for you?" she asked him pressing herself into him. "was I sweet?" she asked. "flirty?" she continued "assertive?" then she finished "submissive?"

There was a clearing by the lake of shining water, surrounded by trees, so the only chance you had of seeing it, was being directly in front of it on the lake.

Secluded, and quiet, the only sounds heard was of the birds in the trees and the far off sound off the flowing water, the scene interrupted by the two young lovers rowing to the shore, the man tied the boat to a tree stump which stood by the water the both of them soaking wet but neither one of them were cold, warm from the hot sun, they knew it would only be a matter of time before their clothes dried.

"Oh Gil!" she exclaimed. "However did you find this place?"

He smiled "When I was rowing the boat that day I rescued you, on my way I saw it from the lake." He said. "I knew I had to bring you here one day." He said with a smile to her putting down the picnic basket he carried and bringing out a picnic blanket for them. He put it on the ground squarely and then took Anne by the hand "Milady." He said with a grin.

She smiled and when seated on the ground said "Kind sir."

He smiled as he sat beside her on the picnic blanket. "I thought it would be nice and secluded." He said with a smile, "Just you and me." He said to her.

"Last time in a while." She said with a sigh looking around her.

He sighed and looked at her "We have tonight." He said with a smile.

"This time tomorrow you'll be half way to Kingsport." She said sadly. "I'll be at work."

He swallowed and put his arm around her "I can't bare the thought either." He said to her softly. "Being away from you, I won't have you, or _us_." She looked to him and saw the seriousness in his eyes

"I'll miss _you_ too." She told him.

"So," he continued "lets not waste what time we have left together on missing each other before it happens." He said to her. "Lets bask in the glow of love."

Anne rolled her eyes and said to him "You're so cheesy!" she told him.

"I am, its true," he admitted "but you like it!" he teased her.

She laughed merrily and looked at him "I do, its true, I can't help it!" she laughed.

"When then the question is who is worse, me for being cheesy or you for liking cheesy?" he laughed.

"Oh definitely you." Anne accused him with a smile. "You took a girl and charmed her, and you were persistent."

"And Cheesy." He smiled.

"And cheesy." She laughed.

"Cheese is on pizza." He said to her.

"it is." She agreed.

"And pizza is goooood!" he continued.

"Yeah." Anne agreed.

"So cheesy is therefore good." Gilbert countered.

She shook her head, as he took out the items from the picnic basket.

Strawberries, cherries, chocolate, sandwiches and crisps all came out of the basket followed by plastic champagne flutes and champagne.

"Oh champagne!" Anne exclaimed looking at it then looked to Gilbert with a smile "are you going to get tipsy really really fast?" he chuckled as she continued "I mean we both know what happened the last time you mixed fizzy and alcohol."

"I didn't know about bubbles and alcohol before you said, how was I suppose to know!?" he asked as she laughed "Hey how did you know?" he asked her.

"Oh, um." She blushed slightly before she said "when I was six I was foster by a family whose father was an alcoholic, and he was very drunk coming home one night and the women said to him that he shouldn't mix his alcohol with fizzy drinks." She said. "I mean you were nothing compared to how drunk he was that... well any night, but I looked it up later, when I was old enough really and it was true." She said with a shrug.

He swallowed and asked "He didn't hurt you did he?"

"No." She confirmed, "no actually I mean he would wake with a banging headache, but he wasn't abusive not even when he was drunk, they were one of the nicer families." She admitted "He was an athlete," she remembered "and he got in an accident which meant he couldn't train anymore, he was depressed really, he turned to drink." She recalled. "But it was the reason they took me away from them." She remembered.

He looked to her wide eyed and a worried expression.

"Hey, don't do that." She said to him "come on, don't." She objected "It brought me here to Green Gables, to Marilla and Matthew, Di and _you_." She told him. "What could be more beautiful."

He took a deep breath and looked out over the lake "An alcoholic when you were six, a child slave when twelve, an abusive male at thirteen." He sighed. "Its not fair." He told her.

"Life isn't." She said. "come on Gil, think of the other foster families I had, no I didn't stay but they weren't all bad." She said hugging into him. "I'm here, with you right now, in the here and now, that makes me the luckiest girl in the world!" She sighed looking at him for a moment before said "Just like we're powerless to change the fact that tomorrow we'll be apart, we're even less so to change the past." She reminded him "and the future is unseen, its now we make the difference." She smiled.

He sighed and looked down at her softly "You know I won't let it happen again." He whispered.

"I know." She smiled and gave him a soft kiss on his jaw "now give me champagne!"

* * *

"Gilbert!" He heard his mother call from the other side of the door. "Are you two descent?" she called.

"Yeah mom." He replied sleepily.

She cracked the door open to see Anne was hugged into the side the covers were up to their chins as they hugged under the blankets. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but you were wanting an early start to get back to school." She reminded him.

"What time is it?" he muttered.

"Five." His mother said as Anne snuggled back under the blankets.

"I should have known better then to tell a farmers wife that I wanted to get up early." He muttered to himself.

"What?" his mother asked innocently as if she hadn't heard.

"I said I'm up." He said groggily. "I'm up I'm up." He repeated as she closed the door. He sat up for a moment before he flopped back onto the bed. "And I'm down again." Gilbert turned and curled into Anne hugging into her for a minute.

"Its today." She whispered.

"It usually is." He joked to which he received a tap off her foot, to which he chuckled.

"I don't want to wake up." She whispered. "I want times to stand still, for us to stay like this a little longer."

"If its any consolation I was planning on getting up at six not five so we have another hour like this."

"That'll do nicely." She whispered. She wiggled a little to get closer to him to which she felt him react which made her chuckle so she did it again.

He turned her on the bed kissing her for a moment before he said "that's it, you asked for this Anne Shirley."


	51. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 15

"Patient with chest pains, they describe as severe, squeezing and tight, its ongoing and triggered by exposure to the cold, exertion and taking deep breaths. The patient feels relief when they rest. Its accompanied by dizziness and shortness of breath." Josh smiled at Gil. "What do they have?"

"Smoker or non smoker?" Gilbert asked.

"Non." Josh confirmed.

"Young or old?" he asked.

"Ummm," Josh said looking it up "Young, nine year old."

"I'm going with Asthma." Gilbert smiled. "Too easy." Gilbert said. "Come on man, give me something challenging."

"Alright alright!" Josh laughed. "Okay, patient with abdominal pain, Onset is intermittent or episodic, Triggered or worsened by eating certain foods Accompanied by diarrhea, passing gas and nausea and vomiting."

"Another young patient?" Gilbert asked.

"Yes, five year old." Josh confirmed.

"I'm going with lactose intolerant." Gilbert said.

"Ding ding ding!" Josh joked, "we have a winner!"

Gilbert's arms went up punching the air with a grin. "yes!"

"Its the old jock in you showing again." Josh smiled at Gilbert.

"I was never a jock," Gilbert said then James snorted. "Well I wasn't here." He said tapping his temple twice.

"No you just played football and class president and..."

"I was in high school!" Gilbert tried.

"I was taking about undergrad..." Josh smiled "sorry I missed the fact that you're a lamb."

The class was called to a close and Gilbert and Josh packed their bags up. "What are you planning for tonight?" Josh asked Gilbert.

"More of Clinical Medicine, followed by psych, with a little bit of Physical diagnosis to round off the evening."

"You need to get out more." Josh shook his head.

"I need to pass my exams." Gilbert replied "and anyway I'm not reclusive, Anne is on the other side of my internet connection." Gilbert smiled.

Josh smiled for a moment before he said "You miss her, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do." Gilbert admitted. "Even more then last year." He said quietly, "But I can't changed not having her here." Gilbert admitted. "I've got to get on, otherwise being away from her would be pointless."

"Come out for dinner?" Josh offered after a short pause. "Come on its late already and its a Friday, plenty of time to study over the weekend..."

"No, no really, I just want to get back." Gilbert said with a smile. "Another time, yeah?" Gilbert asked him as they started to part ways on the court square.

"Alright." Josh shrugged defeated. "Are you coming tomorrow to the study group."

"Yes, I'll be there." He confirmed and with that the two men parted ways.

It was a month into school and Gilbert dragged himself across town into his building and into the elevator. He was dog tired and overworked. He knew he was overworking but he couldn't help but work, if he stopped working he's only think about missing Anne, what was once a balm was now a tease, she was just there, he could see her, but not touch! And it killed him. He loved her and missed her, he dreamed of her most nights and wished she was beside him.

The elevator binged where the doors opened he saw Anne standing there waiting for him. His eyes widened his arms out and around her and his lips pressing into hers within seconds of seeing her. "Anne." He whispered when he pulled back for a second shrugging off his jacket and bag.

"I know its your birthday next weekend and I'll be here anyway but I missed you!" she told him barely letting go. "I couldn't wait another day." She said.

With those words he scooped her up in his arms and ran them into his bedroom.

* * *

"Aren't you meant to be working?" Anne asked him half an hour later.

"Shhh." He said to her his lips caressing the tips of her body.

"No but you are, right?" she tried again.

"Shh." He said again moving across to the other.

"We made love already." She told him "Now we need to concentrate."

"I am concentrating." He told her his hand reaching across to her making sure she felt him there. "On making up for lost time." He told her.

She giggled and relaxed back "You're very persuasive Gil."

He shrugged and said "I know you have a weakness for extension of intimacy." He acknowledged.

"Ummm." She voiced in acknowledgement. "That I do." She admitted then in that moment he looked up into her eyes "Hello." She grinned.

"Hello." He grinned back "I missed you too." He said with a cheeky smile.

"What?" she asked him.

He laughed and said "Out there, you said you couldn't wait another day that you missed me." He clarified.

"Right!" Anne laughed. "Yes, I did say that, well I have." She smiled.

"Do you have a meeting with the publishers?" he asked her his head looking up her body to her face.

"No," Anne smiled "its not the only reason I come and visit you know, I quite fancy you." She said with a grin.

"Oh thanks." Gilbert said returning the grin "That's just the kind of thing a girl should say to her fella." He sighed "and by way of return for the compliment your eyes look _gorgeous_ today." He said laying next to her on the bed and stroking her hair. "I'm the luckiest fella in the world."

She looked into his eyes and smiled softly "That's funny because I think I'm the luckiest girl." She smiled before they kissed slowly and lightly. "Hey love?" she asked him.

"Yeah?" he asked her.

"Aren't you hungry?" she asked him.

"Do I need to get clothes on to eat?" he asked her.

"Depends." She shrugged "are we ordering in?"

"We don't have to." He admitted "I have tons of food from mom."

"Avonlea take out it is then." Anne smiled.

"Not now though," he whispered kissing her more on her body "I'm hungry in a completely different way." He flirted. He reached round her hair at last and asked her "may I?" he asked. She nodded and he gently took out her hair grip where her hair, he stroked it down her past her shoulders, his fingers playing with the red. "So perfect." He smiled his eyes not moving from her hair. "I've had dreams in this colour." He sighed before he leaned using her hair as a cushion he snuggled into her neck and started kissing her there.

* * *

"Hey beautiful," he smiled his hair ruffled he looked confused standing in the doorway in nothing but his boxers he looked to her confused, her hair was in a messy bun she only had on one of his shirts as she moved round the kitchen.

"Hey you." She smiled, "You fell asleep, I thought you'd be actually hungry by the time you woke up so I thought I'd whip something up." She smiled at him as he came and snuggled into her back.

"Mmmm..." he murmured sleepily. "You're taking care of your man?" he asked her.

"I am." She smiled as he kissed into her neck.

"I'm not sure how this is more of a turn on." He whispered to her. "I thought you were perfect before."

"Well," she smiled and said "it helps when I have a teacher like your mom."

"My mom? You've been spending time with my mother?"

Anne smiled and nodded "she's showing me how you like all your food, I think she's worried I'll do it wrong or I don't know how to cook."

"Do you?" he asked her.

"I do." She confirmed. "You're mother calls me a natural but I've had some disasters in the kitchen." She smiled.

"Oh?" Gilbert asked.

"I was using a hand blender one day and the pan was still on the hob, I was whizzing up a soup, whiz and whiz and whiz, only to pull it out to have the plastic melted in the heat of the pan." Gilbert chuckled as she continued "and then of course there was one day I burnt a salad." She said.

"You burnt a salad?" he asked.

"Well it was in a bun, well a burger, I put it all in the microwave and the lettuce caught fire."

With that Gilbert started laughing heartily. "Oh my Anne-Girl!" he smiled still laughing, "well I don't need feeding really!"

"But I _can_ cook now." She smiled to him "Marilla has taught me well." She said her little nose turning up.

"Come on then." He said with a smile "show me what you've got." He smiled. He watched her for a moment and he said "Oh, tomorrow morning I have a study session planned with the lads." He said suddenly remembering, he looked nervously to Anne which made her smile.

"Its okay." She said. "I have to re-write a section of my book, I should go somewhere which will inspire the thoughts, we can meet up after your study session if you like?" she offered.

* * *

Anne sat in the gazebo and took a deep sigh. She never meant for the book to be as personal as this, however the information was alluded to in another one of her tales, where the publishers asked her to expand on that story. She had thought to object but the words never left her mouth, and now she must write. She sighed looking at the old wooden faded sides of it, some of the memories were harsh but...

"Anne?" she heard the familiar voice which snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Roy." She said looking at him in amazement, she stood up quickly her cheeks colouring slightly but to her surprise he smiled at her and said friendly

"Hello."

"Hello." She said to him. "Um, how are you?" she asked him confused.

"I'm well, good, what are you doing here?" he asked her.

"Oh, I'm um, visiting my boyfriend." She said quietly.

"Gilbert." He said to her simply.

She paused for a moment looking for any sign of anger as she replied, "Yes."

He nodded and said "I saw on Facebook." He said with a nod, "you got together with him, not long after we spilt up."

"No, it wasn't that long." She admitted.

"Was he the one you talked about?" he asked her to which she nodded silently "I thought so," he acknowledged "You look happy." He acknowledged. They were silent for a moment before he asked her "Come for a coffee with me?" he asked her. "I want to tell you something."

They walked quietly to the coffee shop where they entered Roy ordered his coffee and almost ordered Anne's when she cut in "Iced Tea please?" she asked. "Here let me..." she started getting out her purse.

"No, please please Anne, let me?" Roy insisted, which she nodded. "You switched back to tea." He observed.

"I prefer it." She said finally admitted to him.

He looked to her shocked for a moment before he shook his head for a moment. They remained quiet again until they sat down he watched her for a moment before he said to her "I'm not angry at you Anne," he told her "in fact I wanted to find a way of reconnecting with you." He admitted.

"Oh?" Anne asked nervously.

"I found her." He told her with a twinkle in his eye, Anne looked confused for a moment before it hit her as he described "I met her at Dolly's debutante ball, I know I know what you're thinking its awfully late for a debutante ball now, and for what its worth I agree, but Doll has been insistent on being as normal as possible but mother finally broke her." Anne shook her head with a slight grin on her face, no it certainly was not what she was thinking but all the same "Anyway she was there for her little sisters debutante ball too and it turns out she is an heiress of her own fortune, so she would have no interest in mine, she was after true and real love and she understands, she understands what I want to do with my father's money and she agrees with me that my sisters should get a look in and a say and she's awesome actually she's going to be a lawyer and she smart and funny..."

"Your mother?" Anne asked him.

"Hates her," Roy said with a huge smile on his face "she has an unbending view and a loving heart and my mother does not phase her." He said "and I'm glad." He said taking Anne by her hands "You were right, my mother can't do anything, Jessica is in my social circle, my mother knows she's an heiress in her own right she has no interest in our money, she could live quite well off her own and so she obviously knows the responsibility of such a fortune and I'm free! I'm free of her grasp and I'm in love!" he proclaimed. "And I do love her Anne." Anne smiled at him fondly then looked down at their hand confused as to why his hands were still there "Oh sorry." He said taking his hands away with pink cheek.

"Its okay." She said with a smile. "Actually I wanted to connect with you, funnily," she said. "its about the way I approached, or didn't approach sex with you." She started.

"I'm sorry." He said immediately.

"S-sorry?" she questioned.

"Yes, sorry." He confirmed "I should never have cheated on you and I should never have tried to force you to go quicker then you wanted." She sat quietly for a moment before he asked "What?"

"Just I had some friends who are in an on again off again sort of relationship," she admitted quietly "and I know both of them really well and the guy has been sleeping with other girls in the 'off' parts and I thought maybe I'd been too hard on you." She said quietly "because he's a decent guy." She added.

He nodded thoughtfully before he said "Is he manipulating the relationship so he could go and have sex with other people? Deliberately make it so they are 'spilt up' because he knows she'll take him back?" he asked.

"N-no," she said. "No, its not like that."

Roy spoke softly looking at his coffee he admitted "I was." She looked at him wordlessly before he continued "it was wrong of me to treat you so badly Anne, I was controlling and manipulative, I want you to know, I was scared of loosing you."

"You did." Anne reminded him.

"I know." He told her and then with a grin he admitted "something came over you those last couple of months, some mischief some- thing..." he took a sip of his coffee and asked "you were back in contact with Gilbert weren't you?" he asked. She looked up at him as he looked at her a grin spread across both their faces. "You'll come to my wedding?" he asked her.

Anne looked to him "Wow!" Anne admitted "You aren't wasting anytime are you?" she asked him.

He smiled and admitted "I don't have much time to waste." He admitted "Jessica and I, we can make it work." He told her. Anne smiled and he said "You can bring Gilbert to the wedding, I always liked Gilbert, he's a good man," he tempted her "to show no hard feelings, please?"

Anne smiled and nodded "I'll see if Gilbert would like to." Anne said.

"You still at your Avonlea address?" Roy asked.

"Um, yes." Anne acknowledged.

Roy looked at her again before he said "it's good to see you again Anne." He told her before he commented "you have that necklace back on." He observed.

"Yeah." She said. "its part of me." She said proudly.

He looked at it confused for a moment "it looks different, is it missing a ring?" he asked her.

"Yeah." Anne said quietly "I gave it to Gilbert." She admitted.

Roy looked surprised before he said "and that little pink heart, you've added it..." he said nodded "from Gilbert."

She smiled "Yeah."

"Wow." He nodded. "You're in deep!" Roy said.

"Yeah." She confirmed.

He looked at her and said "You've had sex with him, haven't you?" he asked her. She blushed looking away before he sighed heavily went to say something then stopped himself then said "Good for you." Then added "He's a lucky man."

Anne looked at him and said quietly "Thank you."

He sat back and took a sip of his coffee before he asked "So what were you doing in our gazebo?"

"Oh, I'm um, I'm writing a novel." She said quietly.

"Really?!" he exclaimed "I didn't think you wanted to after Averil, I thought you thought it was a waste of time...!" he exclaimed.

"No," Anne said quietly looking at her tea "You _told_ me it was a waste of time..." they were silent for a moment before Anne continued "Anyway I'm working with a publisher and there was a scene which was inspired by our first meeting and they wanted me to expand on it and so I went back there to try and capture the moment in my mind."

"You wrote something, based on me?" he asked her.

"Sort of." She said with a shrug. "Gil said inspiration is all around us, he gave me the idea in the first place, but its sort of the idealised version you know, one for the real romantics, so yes it is partly based on you."

He looked at her wide eyed "What will you write about me?" he asked.

"All the lovely things, all the kind things you are." She said. "Is that okay?" she asked.

He smiled and said "You're being too kind." He admitted. "Can I read it? In the book when it comes out?" he asked.

"Sure." She confirmed.

"Did I interrupt your inspiration?" he asked.

"No." She said taking a sip of her tea "No, you really didn't I think, I think bumping into you was just what needed to happen."

"So Gilbert is here? In Kingsport?" he asked.

"Yes, he's at medical school, he's just a month into his second year." Anne said.

"Wow!" Roy exclaimed "Well I knew the fellow was smart but I had no idea..."

"Oh, yes!" Anne exclaimed quickly "He is really, _really_ smart!"

Roy looked to her surprised by her reaction "That attracts you to him." He observed.

Anne blushed with a grin on her face "Yeah." She whispered before her phone beeped in her pocket, she pulled it out looking at it for a moment "Its Gil, he's finished at his study class." Anne said "My cue." She said with a smile. "Thank you for the tea." She said.

"Your welcome." Roy said to her as she stood up, she smiled at him before she headed for the door. "Hey Anne?" he called after her she turned around and looked at him. "All the best."

She smiled and nodded "Thanks Roy," she said "you too."

* * *

"And then Micheal misdiagnosed the paper patient with Heart arrhythmia when it was hyperthyroidism." Gilbert chuckled as they came out of the elevator into the apartment.

"Wouldn't that be dangerous?" Anne asked him seriously.

"If the patient was real yeah." Gilbert admitted. "the real trick is understanding that nervousness can sometimes feel like anxiety or stress, the dizziness and light-headedness isn't necessarily..." he started when she captured his lips in surprise.

"You sound so smart when your diagnosing." She flirted her arms surrounding him.

"Ummm." He sounded appreciatively. "How was..." he lost his thoughts for a moment in her kisses before he tried again "how was your morning?"

"Oh, good." Anne said bringing her lips down to his neck "I bumped into Roy and we had a chat." She told him before she tried to return to his lips.

He pulled back and looked at her confused "Roy?" he asked her with a lump in his throat.

"Yeah." Anne tried to pull herself back into his arms when he pulled away an unfamiliar look on his face. "He saw me at the gazebo we met in..." Anne started.

"You went to the place you met him?" Gilbert asked her a feeling pitting in his stomach.

"Gil." She started as he pulled away and sat on the cuddle chair.

"You spent the morning with your _ex_?" he asked, Anne looked to him confused for a the few moments of silence between them before he asked "Is that why you came Anne, to catch up with Roy?" he asked her looking slightly hurt.

"What?!" she exclaimed. "No, no, don't be ridiculous!" Anne exclaimed "I come here to be with you!" she told him. "Gil we just met, I went out there to get some inspiration for a story in my book and we bumped into each other, we went to a coffee house he bought me tea we chatted he's getting married heavens..." she looked at his face and melted for a moment "are you jealous?" she asked him.

He shrugged as she sat on his knee, "You get all turned on and tell me you've spent the morning with him."

"I get turned on because _you_ talk smart." She giggled, sitting down putting her arms around him "I think you're adorable when your jealous." His cheeks blushed for a moment before she whispered "Yes, I spent maybe an hour with Roy, but you want to know something amazing?" she asked Gilbert "in that whole hour there wasn't a single moment I didn't thank God I wasn't with Royal Gardner." Anne smiled. "You know I love you right?" she whispered. "I'm a total sapiosexual." She flirted.

His lips upturned and said "You're turned on by smart guys?" he asked her.

"Oh yeah." She whispered kissing his earlobe gently "and you know its a turn on you know what a sapiosexual is." She flirted. "You are so hot!" she assured him. "I love you Gil." She whispered to him "and there's only ever been you..." She said straddling on either side of his legs, she looked at his hand put his hand on her chest over her heart "...here. " she whispered looking up at him. She smiled sweetly "You still jealous?" she asked.

"No." He shook his head and he started to relax as she kissed into his neck again "Did you know there was a study done on jealousy..." he started "where they put some female monkey view of their male monkey partners with other male monkeys and the male monkeys partners showed heightened activity in the cingulate cortex – associated with social pain in humans – and the lateral septum – associated with pair bonding in humans. Combined, it looks like the feeling of jealousy is strongly connected to a stain on bonding and feelings of social rejection." He told her.

Anne pulled back and looked at him "Awww." She sounded sadly.

"The jealous males also showed elevated levels of the hormones testosterone and cortisol. This latter chemical, an indicator of social stress, was greatest in those that spent the most time looking at their partner next to a stranger male."

Anne looked sadly at him and stroked back his hair "You don't need to feel jealous with the other monkey's Gil." She said gently and they both chuckled "You can lower that cortisol hormone." She grinned.

He looked proudly at her "Good for you!" he said referring to her remembering the name of the hormone.

"As for the testosterone, lets see if we can make use of it." she said with a smile kissing him teasingly "hey, would this technically be make up sex?" she asked him.

He smiled and looked at her between kisses "make up sex?" he questioned.

"Well yeah, we had an argument..."

"If you can call it an argument..." he inserted.

"...and now we're making up for it." She shrugged, which for some reason made him start chuckling. "What?" she asked.

"Oh my god!" he exclaimed "was our first time technically make up sex?" he asked still chuckling which made Anne start giggling with him. "Oh, Oh I'm so glad we can do this." He continued.

"Have..." she looked at him confused "have make up sex?" she questioned.

He laughed "Well yes, but joke, have a good laugh." He smiled.

She sat back on his knee and nodded, "You know its something else I really missed about you when you were gone, we could always joke we could always laugh we could always cheer each other up." She admitted.

"Could Roy not?" he asked her, the hint of jealously still lingering a little in his voice.

"No, he never could." She admitted looking him in the eyes. "See, I'm a humorsexual? Is that even a word? I'm a humorsexual and a sapiosexual." She told him "and plus, you're really really hot!"

He smiled and looked at her again "well I suppose if those are the things which really turn you on..." he said with a smile.

"Oh they are!" she exclaimed before she claimed his lips as her own.


	52. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 16

**Hi Folks!**

 **So I've had some lovely reviews this week some old friends and some new. Thank you so much guys, yes I've been working on this about a year now so it's really a very long project! And those questioning if its coming to an end, have no fear, I'm not even close!**

 **Oh I know people have said there's no need to because I don't write anything about it, but just a little disclaimer they talk about (consensual) sexting in this chapter.**

 **love**

 **Carrots x**

* * *

 **Winter 2015**

Gilbert walked across the field, the snow slipping into his boots he would feel it except his toes were already numb from walking. They had come home for Christmas after a very broken up term at school Gilbert felt disjointed from his peers, from his school work, his whole life was disjointed and he was alone.

He had his parents to talk to of course, but as much as he loved them what he really needed was someone to talk to about what he was going through. He shook his head feeling selfish again, how could he be thinking about himself when his father was going through so much.

It had been a long time since he really hung out with people his own age. His school work was often done by a bedside in a hospital, he was self taught in many disciplines but he was very nervous of his understanding of some subjects, what if he had misunderstood them?

"Hey Gil!" He heard behind him. His lips upturned for a moment as he saw Charlie and Moody come towards him.

Gilbert took a deep breath fixed his smile and said to them "Hey Boys."

"Where have you been?" Charlie asked Gilbert finally catching up with him.

"I would have thought that obvious." Gilbert told his friend.

Charlie and Moody gave each other the same dark look Gilbert was accustom to now. A knowing look between the two which was utter nonsense to him, because they didn't know, they couldn't know, and as much as they were still his friend he still never found it in himself to really talk to them.

"Hey, You know who I nailed?" Charlie asked Gilbert.

Gilbert took a frustrated sigh which seemed to go over Charlie's head but a grin from Moody meant he noticed.

"Beth." Charlie said with a smile.

"I really somehow doubt Gilbert cares about how many girls you choose to couple with Charlie." Moody said factually to Charlie.

"Naw," Charlie said nudging Gilbert "Old Gilbert here gets his share of the nurses right?"

Gilbert looked to Moody his eyes rolling "sure Charlie, whatever you say."

"Oh, nurses are hot!" Charlie continued quite in his own world.

"You're dad will get better you know Gil." Moody said to Gilbert.

Gilbert swallowed and looked at the ground for a moment "thanks." He said simply but knew the chances were slim at the moment. How do you tell your friends you're pretty sure your father is dying. "We'll catch up later yeah?" Gilbert asked his friends.

"You cutting up Green Gables field?" Charlie asked.

"Short cut home. Mr Cuthbert doesn't mind." Gilbert told them.

"Its Miss Cuthbert you need to worry about." Charlie said rolling his eyes. "See you later."

Gilbert hopped over the fence he turned the corner only to practically run into said Miss Cuthbert. Only literally running into her. Paper shopping bags scattering across the path its contents scattering further.

"Oh Miss Cuthbert, I am so sorry!" Gilbert exclaimed. The older lady sighed heavily where Gilbert interrupted running across to the contents of the bag "No, its my fault," he told her "I wasn't paying attention..." he continued. He came back having finally caught all the items his hands full he looked at the contents sadly realising he had no way of letting the items go as the paper bags had spilt clear in two. "How can I help?" he asked her.

He thought he saw her lips upturn slightly and only for a spilt second but just as quickly the look was gone and replaced by the stern look of an annoyed old lady.

"You can bring them into Green Gables." She told the boy.

"Right away, Miss Cuthbert." He said turned in the spot the dozen items or so carefully balanced across his arms. He could see out of the corner of his eye the older women looking at him her brow knotted.

"You're John Blythe's boy." she said to him, though it wasn't a question, more of a statement.

"Yes Ma'am." He confirmed. "Gilbert Blythe."

"How old are you Gilbert?" She asked him.

"I just turned sixteen ma'am." He confirmed.

"That's awfully young." She said to him.

"S-Sorry Miss Cuthbert?" he asked her.

"It's awfully young to be going through what you are." She said, now more softly.

He swallowed looking at the items in his arms "I'm not really going through it though am I?" he said to her. "Its my dad whose going through it."

Marilla nodded in agreement then said "When someone has cancer, its not just them it effects, it effects everyone who has ever loved them." Gilbert looked to her a little confused before she said "I believe that includes his son."

Gilbert let out a sigh and said "I'm just..." he stopped himself and shook his head refusing to say what he was feeling as they stepped up onto the veranda.

"So lonely you're talking to an old lady?" she asked him.

Gilbert looked at her his mouth "No you're not." He objected "You can't be any older then my dad." He said as a matter of fact.

"I went to school with your father, we were in the same year." Marilla told him.

"See." Gilbert said simply.

"Forty Eight must be old to a sixteen year old boy." Marilla said with a smile as she opened the door for Gilbert. "Just on the table." She instructed him. "And I can't help but notice you didn't say anything about me saying you were lonely." She said as their eyes met. For some reason Gilbert felt a knot in his chest release as he took a breath. He felt something familiar about her but couldn't put his finger on it at the moment.

"I... I... It doesn't matter." He said quietly looking away.

"You do matter Gilbert." Marilla told him. "Just ask your mother if you don't believe me." Gilbert stood silently looking at his feet before Marilla told him "You can go Gilbert, Thank you." She told him, he nodded and before he left the kitchen Marilla said to him "You're like your dad." She told him. Gilbert only nodded the corners of his lips upturning before he bid her farewell and left to go up the field.

* * *

 **Present day**

Diana sighed looking out over the field. Anne Cordy was playing in the field not far from her while they were waiting for Fred walking home from work, he worked in the bank in Avonlea, he had only started there in September as the assistant manager, he had worked hard in his apprentice and even harder at the excel programme in the bank which meant he climbed the ladder to management very fast. Diana smiled as she saw Fred bid Anne farewell. Anne and Fred both worked in town, Anne would continue onward to Green Gables and Fred came up the field, they had started walking together in September when Fred had taken up the post, Diana was most grateful for Anne's company to Fred. Anne smiled seeing Diana at the top of the field as Fred opened the gate Anne waved up and Diana waved back to her before Anne walked on out of sight behind the trees.

"Daddy!" Anne Cordy ran down the field towards Fred her arms outstretched towards her father. He swept her up in his arms almost throwing her up on his shoulders as she squealed with delight, Fred smiled as he came up the field and Diana came down off the gate she'd been sitting on and with a short fast walk she was in her husbands arms.

"Both my girls to greet me." He said with a smile and a kiss to Diana's lips. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked.

"Nothing in particular." Diana admitted. "But Anne Cordy missed you and wanted to come and play in the field to wait for you." Diana told Fred. "Its early November now, it might be the last chance we get for a little while." She admitted "the cold weather will set in soon." She said when he looked to her concerned for a moment. "So how many times did Anne mention Gilbert today?" Diana smiled.

Fred chuckled for a moment, every day they had walked home together he had kept tally of his old classmates mention of his ex football captain. "She did well today, only twice." He admitted "well, three really, but that was me so it would seem strange if she didn't respond to it."

"It would indeed." Diana agreed. "For someone who used to be so adamant about not talking about him..."

Fred smiled "well some girls are like that with their crushes... well it turned into love quite quickly." Fred said. "He got top of the class in a few tests recently," Fred commented. "She told me because he got top marks out of everyone..."

"That's fantastic!" Diana exclaimed.

"It would be but he only got 82%..." Fred said.

"Only?!" Diana questioned.

"Well yes but that's just the thing, he's used to acing tests we're talking high eighties into nineties."

"Well what was different about this one?" Diana asked.

"Apparently even the doctors said it was highly unusual for anyone to get above 80%, its just one of those test which are very difficult..."

"But its still higher then the unusual mark." Diana said confused.

"But Gilbert was disappointed." Fred chuckled. "Anne asked me for way to cheer him up."

Diana snorted to which Fred looked at her confused "Well I should think _she_ is better then you at that."

Fred chuckled to his wife "she can't exactly do that from here, he's in Kingsport."

"She's been the Kingsport twice since the beginning of term."

"Which is why she was looking at others ways to cheer him up, she was asking me for a mans point of view." He looked to Diana seriously "Come on Di," he said with a smile "its romantic, she wants to help him, not lull him to a false sense of security through se..."he started

"Shhhh!" Diana interrupted looking up at their daughter on his shoulders.

"You know what I mean." Fred said exasperated. "Its young love." He smiled.

"And ours isn't." She smiled coyly.

"Well, we've been in love for a similar amount of time, but they've only been together for just under a year and a half, expressing love is different from feeling it." He observed. "It can make all the difference."

"I suppose it does." Diana agreed. She smiled up at him for a moment and she whispered "There is another reason we won't be able to greet you for a while." She said to him.

"Oh?" He asked as they approached the house.

Diana looked up at Anne Cordy and said "do you want to go to the playroom before dinner?" Diana asked her daughter.

"Play play!" Anne Cordy exclaimed clambering down her father. When he put her down on the ground she ran to the door when her mother got to the door she opened it and the child ran inside and away to the playroom out of view.

Fred looked at his wife curiously and said to her "Are you going to enlighten me?" he asked her.

"Well," she said with a blush "its really a bad idea to go wandering outside in the snow and ice, with a small child in hand when..." she trailed and blushed away shyly before she looked back and said "...when your carrying another baby." She smiled at him. He looked at her amazed with wide eyes "By the time the weather sets in I'll be four, five months." She smiled "I'm not sure exactly how far along I am but..."

When upon her husband ceased her lifting her in his arms. "Oh my god!" he exclaimed happily before he burst into laughter placing her gently on the floor and whispered "Our baby." He confirmed.

"Our baby." She smiled.

"A little brother, or sister for Anne Cordy." He smiled. "Oh Diana!" he exclaimed. Then started to sing badly "Thrills I get when you hold me close, Oh, my darling, You're the most, I love you but do you love me, Oh Diana can't you see, I love you with all my heart, And I hope we will never part, Oh please, stay with me, Diana."

She laughed with him as he spun her around the kitchen.

* * *

"Hey Beautiful." He said to her settling down with his dinner beside him.

"Pick a colour, red, yellow, blue or green." She said with a smiled holding something in her hands.

"What?" he asked. "What have you got there?" he asked her.

"Its a paper fortune teller." She said holding it up. "come on play." She smiled.

He rolled his eyes a little and said "alright fine." He said with a smile "red, always red." He said with a grin to her.

She smiled for a second "Thank you." She said. "R-E-D" she said shifting her fingers in the origami fortune teller.

"9,8,5 or 4?" she asked him.

"Um, 5, for your birthday." He smiled.

"1-2-3-4-5," she counted then looked at the numbers again "7,6,3 or 2?" she said with a smile.

He smiled looking at her for a moment before he said "Um, two for the two of us." He smiled.

"Oh very good!" she smiled. "1-2." She counted. "same again 7,6,3 or 2?" she asked him.

"Um, two again?" he questioned.

"Okay..." she smiled opening it up "Anything is possible!" she exclaimed. She looked up smiling at him "You see!?" she exclaimed "You have to believe this its a fortune teller." She said as if it was fact.

He chuckled "Anne, come on there's no evidence..." he started.

"The power of positivity, of belief!" she exclaimed "There's plenty of evidence!" she exclaimed "What about the placebo effect, huh? People believe what they are taking will help them when it doesn't but they get better?"

"So that is a placebo?" he asked her.

"No, because if you believe it your half way there, come on! Trust me!" she smiled "again!?"

He looked at her and chuckled before he took a bite of his food. "Hey, any chance you could make a x-rated version of that?" he asked her. She giggled and held up another one coloured in pinks and reds, hearts and crosses. He grinned at her "That's _my_ girl!"

"Its not exactly... wellll... you'll see." She managed to giggle out "Okay scarlet, fuchsia, ruby red or soft pink..."

* * *

Gilbert lay on his bed one hand flapped behind his head and he smiled at the ceiling. He really did have an amazing girlfriend. Even back in High School he never imagined it could be this good. At the beginning of the week he had been feeling particularly down. He aimed at excellence, his competitive nature needed to be top of the class, not just top of the class but exceeding all expectations.

82%, was a perfectly respectable mark, in fact 82% of his class would kill for an 82% mark on a normal test, never mind the one dubbed the hardest test in medical school.

But for him, it was 18% he didn't get right, that's almost a fifth wrong, and it was hard to see, and he had no Anne to comfort him.

But, there she was.

250 miles away and she was still, right there for him.

He smiled more at the romantic version of the paper fortune teller. She had whispered hot promises, promises he lived off at the moment, but best off all (even better then the number which he had worked on quite early on meant she had to take clothes off so he kept on choosing it again and again) she had looked at him so lovingly, like he was adored by her and that beautiful look, it meant more to him then anything.

He felt his phone buzz and he opened the screen.

Anne-Girl: So can a girl fulfil a promise on a text?

He looked at the phone intrigued for a moment his heart rate raising.

What do you mean?

He waited for the text back not sure if she meant what he thought she did.

Anne-Girl: ;-)

He looked amazed at the phone before she sent the text.

Anne-Girl: What about sexting?

His heart raced as he looked at the phone, for a full minute he looked amazed unable to answer. Where he received another text from her.

Anne-Girl: Have I grossed you out?

This time he was quick to respond.

No Anne-Girl.

Anne-Girl: Because, you know lets forget about it.

No, please DON'T Anne.

There was a full minutes waiting time before she typed again.

Anne-Girl: Are you sure?

Lets just say I was looking at my screen amazed, I can't tell you the amount of times I fantasized about sexting with you.

Anne-Girl: Really?

Oh Yeah!

Anne-Girl: Like when?

Oh you know, once or twice a week from when I figured out I fancied you.

Anne-Girl: :-)

Anne Girl: So, Um, Did you know when we hung up the phone, I didn't put any clothes back on, in fact I took clothes off... I'm just in my bed... completely naked.

Gilbert felt two things go upwards at that moment, one of them was his lips turning up into a smile.

* * *

"...and then Davy actually took it!" Anne exclaimed as they entered the house to Fred who was merrily laughing with her.

"No!" Fred exclaimed laughing he looked to Diana and kissed her on the cheek. "Good Evening beautiful." He smiled.

"Just what I like to see, my two favourite people bonding as they come home to me." She smiled.

"Come now Diana, Anne and I have always got along." He said. "Even if she wasn't sure of me at first." He said with a wicked grin to Anne.

"You _told_ him?!" Anne exclaimed her cheeks burning.

"You swore you'd never tell!" Diana exclaimed. She then turned to Anne, "although I think he would have worked it out from your reaction to us getting engaged _Anne_."

Anne blushed away silently where Fred spoke up "Come now Diana, don't embarrass our guest of honor." He said with a smile to Anne "its just she was unsure of how all the dynamics would change in all of our relationships." He said practically "and lets be honest there was some adjustments that needed to be made, _you_ felt that surely sweetheart?"

"Well, yes I did." Diana admitted.

"I have for a long time worked out that I wasn't loosing you, that marriage, is a positive thing, that Fred loves you and wants us all to be happy. Myself included." Anne offered with a sorry look.

"There's no need to be sorry, all was forgiven a long time ago." Fred said with a smile "and we walk home now like old buddies don't we?" he offered Anne.

"Yes, yes we do." She said with a smile. "You're very kind Fred Wright, you're like Gilbert like that."

"And I believe that's the best sort of compliment you could give." He said with a grin. He turned to his wife and said "see just like Gilbert." He said which made Diana giggle. "What we having?" he asked her.

"Meat Pie and some Timbits for dessert." Diana said.

"Ohhh." Anne said with a smile "I'm being spoilt tonight!" she said with a smile.

"You are indeed." Fred agreed. "I'm going to go and see my daughter." He said with a smile to both girls he left.

"How was Gil this morning?" Diana asked Anne.

"Oh." She said with a blush with the memory of last evenings and this morning flirtings. "I think he was feeling better."

Diana looked at her friend suspiciously "I'm sure." She said to Anne then in a look Diana whispered "Do you miss him?" Diana asked.

"Yes." She admitted Anne thought for a moment "flirting isn't the same as being with someone..." she started slowly "and maybe a little last night we..." Anne almost whispered "Sexted."

"What!?" Diana exclaimed in surprise loudly, before Anne shushed her and they both looked towards the door to see if Fred was coming to see what had happened. With no sign of him Anne sighed in relief. "Sorry, just, I wasn't expecting that!" she said in a whisper.

"Well how else are we meant to get any intimacy now?" Anne asked Diana. "He's away and I can't go running to Kingsport every weekend, Andrew is really awesome, and Friday's I'm always off early but even when I drive there on Friday night I stay Saturday and most of Sunday, we can't just have sex the entire time I'm there he has work to do, I have work to do if I ever want to get published." Anne tried to justify.

"I'm not judging Anne, and I suppose Fred and I never had to come across that obstacle." She admitted. "I just didn't think you two would be into that." She admitted. "Just how adventurous are you two?" she whispered to Anne.

Anne looked to her confused "I don't understand?" she questioned.

"Well..." Diana started "have you two had sex outside?" Diana asked her, to which she received a telling blush "In a tent doesn't count." Diana continued.

"Still yes, and in the tent too." Anne blushed.

"Oh!" Diana exclaimed with a wicked smile on her face "In water?" Diana asked, again no words left Anne's mouth but a grin did start to appear on her lips "A barn?" Diana continued to pry. "In a pick up truck?" Diana smiled. "In a kitchen? Oh by a window?"

"A one way window..." Anne trailed with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Good heavens women do you two ever stop!?" Diana exclaimed.

"Yes, for the first six years of our acquaintance." Anne justified.

"So, sexting..." she trailed "how far did you go?" Diana asked.

"There wasn't any porn if that's what you mean, we tastefully covered up our parts for the pictures..." Anne blushed "although I'll admit he looked better then I ever could..." she added "but we flirted, we suggested things we wanted to do to each other the next time we met..." she trailed and her eyes rolled a little "frustratingly it made me want him more." Anne shook her head and looked to Diana pink in face, Anne sighed "When I think about all the time we could have been together..." Anne trailed.

Diana's head nodded in understanding, she took a sigh and asked "did it cheer him up at least?" she asked Anne, to which Anne smiled softly. "He really has nothing to worry about." Diana said shaking her head.

"Its a worry to him." Anne said thoughtfully. "Whether or not we think it is."

"Maybe its the perspective of it." Diana said with a sigh.

"Well when you always get 90 odd percent a 'drop' to low 80s is quite the shock." Anne said with a shrug.

Diana took a sigh and said "how's work?"

"Its good." Anne said with a smile. "We're looking at getting an author to come into the bookstore."

"Really?!" Diana asked. "Is that how you'll get Avonlea on the map?"

"Well, one of the ways!" Anne said with a chuckle.

"What are you doing up at the school every Thursday afternoon?" Diana asked her. Anne looked to her for a moment before she continued "Davy said you're there every Thursday, that you've been in classes sometimes?" she questioned.

"Just something Miss Stacy suggested." Anne shrugged.

"Help me with these?" Diana asked of her, which she happily obliged carry some food into the dining room.

* * *

Dinner was shared, and Anne Cordy was put to bed, the three friends sat in the living room.

"So, actually," Diana started "we invited you over to tell you something?" Diana explained.

"Oh?" Anne asked.

"Are you ready to be an Aunt again?" Diana asked her friend.

Anne looked at Diana with wide eyes and then to Fred who smiled then back to Diana "You're pregnant!?" Anne exclaimed. "Oh Diana!" she jumped up as Diana got up calmly and threw her arms around Diana. "Oh congratulations!" she exclaimed before she brought Fred into the hug. "Oh you guys!" she exclaimed. "Oh I can't believe it!" Anne continued pulling back for a moment "its about time there was another Wright in the world!" she smiled.

Diana smiled and looked up at Fred.

"So when will you start?" Fred said with a cheeky grin.

"Fred!" Diana said with a playful slap to his chest. They all sat back down as Fred nursed his pride. "Though honestly Anne, don't you think about it?" Diana enquired.

"We're only 23, there's plenty of time for that." Anne said with a smile to her friends.

"Gilbert's just turned 24." Diana observed.

"Gilbert isn't the one with a biological clock!" Anne retorted. She smiled and shrugged "One day, yes, but we've only just been together for just a little over a year."

"Oh but your kids will be beautiful!" Diana exclaimed.

Anne laughed and shook her head. "We're not there yet." She said.

* * *

"We've talked about kids Anne you shouldn't be surprised other people are curious." Gilbert said with a shrug that night as she recounted the evening for him.

"I know that." She said finally sitting on her bed "it would just be silly having a baby now, I mean you still have medical school I'm not exactly in a career yet." She said. "Fred went straight from school into an apprenticeship. Thanks to his hard work they are happy and able to have a family."

Gilbert swallowed and looked at Anne "Money isn't everything, we could have babies before I finish medical school." He said logically.

She smiled at the screen at his hopeful face "I'm not saying no to the idea, but do you really want to be a daddy in nine months time?" she asked him.

He chuckled and flirted "Damn you Shirley, propositioning a boy like that."

Which got him a good chuckle from Anne, "well its too bad if you did I already took my pill today." She said with a shrug.

He smiled and said "Nothing wrong with practicing though is there?" he asked her.

"Well," she said in a thoughtful flirt "they do say practice makes perfect." She smiled. "Next time love, next time."


	53. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 17

**Soooooooo, I know a few of you are wondering and have been asking about Anne moving in with Gilbert, well here we see what Anne has been working on during the time Gilbert is at medical school and we get a little insight into what's coming next for the pair! (Some of you are going to love this!)**

* * *

Anne was in the fiction section again. She took particular care of it. She loved to line the books up in neat order, faithfully alphabetically. It was nearing the Christmas holidays for the children (and most of all for Gilbert) the snow was falling lightly outside and Avonlea was looking more and more like a Christmas card every day.

She had picked up an edition of Sherlock Holmes and flicked to the first page

 _"MR. SHERLOCK HOLMES, who was usually very late in the mornings, save upon those not infrequent occasions when he stayed up all night, was seated at the breakfast table..._ "

"it's twins." She heard a familiar voice.

She looked up surprised by the voice, deep but playful, it was the voice of her most beloved. She looked at him surprised but for a completely different reason then you'd think with him being home a day early "Gil!" she exclaimed "What happened to your face?" she asked him.

He chuckled "the same thing as the reason why we haven't been skyping the last week, a little thing called exams." He laughed the back of his hand stroking his now long stubble, which he thought looked good "I didn't shave the week before I just didn't have time and then this last week I haven't either. I was thinking of keeping it." He told her.

She stood dead still and scowled at him as if she was working him out. "I don't know." She told him standing closer to him studying him. She pulled him in and tried to kiss him "Oh!" she exclaimed as if something unpleasant had happened "Yuck!"

"Yuck?!" Gilbert exclaimed. "Yuck!"

"I can't kiss you like that!" she exclaimed.

He chuckled and looked at her "Fine." He said defeated "I'll go home and shave it off, I ought to let mom know I'm home. What time are you off?" he asked her.

"At four." She said with a smile "I could get used to it." She said.

"No!" Gilbert protested "I don't want a single thing coming between me and you kissing." He grinned. He turned to walk away.

"Hey Gil?" she said to him.

"Yeah?" he asked her.

"You look like your dad like that." She said to him.

He shuddered for a moment and said "Alright alright I get it the beard goes!" he chuckled

* * *

She practically pounced out of work, right outside the doors was Gilbert in his car. She grinned as she saw he had shaved, she opened the door and got in the car closed the door behind her and pulled him in to kiss him deeply.

"Now that is the kind of welcome I was expecting!" he said with a grin crossing his face.

"Well let this be a lesson to you, to shave." She smiled.

"My ma didn't like it either, she said I didn't look like Gilbert." He told her.

"Well you didn't!" Anne said pulling on her seat belt, her hand automatically reaching across touching him on his thigh. He grinned taking a deep breath in at the feeling closed his eyes for a second before he opened them again and pulled away in the car.

* * *

The chattered all the way back to Green Gables, when they arrived she lead him straight up the stairs to her bedroom

"I can't believe you're really here!" she whispered.

"I do actually come from Avonlea." Gilbert smiled as she crossed the room and put her jacket in the cupboard. "What's this?" Gilbert asked her looking at the form on her desk.

She looked at him as he looked at the form with a sigh she said "It an application form." She confirmed.

"I can see that." Gilbert said and he looked at her "Are you applying to come back to university?" he asked her.

She took a deep breath "I was going to put the application in for next academic year, Master's of Art in English, I thought it would be beneficial to get, but I did the maths, I have enough for tuition but not for rent and the rest of the living expenses I need another year." She explained. He read silently through it listening to her at the same time "I talked to Miss Stacy about it in the summer she's been helping me fill out the application, I've even been spending time at the school, My free Monday and Thursday afternoons volunteering for classroom assistant, apparently they like to see it on the application form." Anne said.

"You kept it a secret from me?" he asked her looked at her first.

"Not a secret exactly, just i don't know it was in the back of my mind for a while and it kept on seeming funny to just bring it up. I've been saving, living at home and working in Avonlea meant I didn't have any expenses." She shrugged "and I didn't spend all my money on you or in coming to Kingsport every weekend, no matter how much I wanted to I thought maybe this was more important, not then us, just then spending money for spending sake."

He looked at her with wide eyes, then back at the application form "You have it all filled in for this year, all the references, Miss Stacy has filled in the recommendations and everything, this is ready to go." He said thoughtfully. "Is the rent and the living expenses really the only thing holding you back?" he asked her.

"Yes." She admitted walking away and sitting on her bed.

"Well..." he said his eyebrows arching as he put down the papers he turned around and looked at her seriously "what if that was no longer a problem?" he asked her. She looked at him confused and he chuckled "What if, you were to move in," he continued "with me." He added quietly.

Her eyes went wide she stood up quickly "You want me to move in with you?!" she asked him.

He shrugged and said "Things are heating up next year, I'm not sure how often I'll make it back to Avonlea, I know I'll try and obviously and I can't offer you a home in Avonlea but when we're in Kingsport..."

She squealed in delight jumping into his arms. He chuckled at the reaction holding her to him he said still chuckling "Is this a yes?" he asked her.

"Yes, Yes Yes!" Anne squealed kissing him happily. "You want me to move in with you?!" she asked again.

"I want you to move in with me." He confirmed. "So much!" he said to her.

"but I thought you didn't like people in your stuff?" Anne asked him with a little grin on her face.

"I don't." He told her "but its different with you," he admitted "I like to share my stuff with you." He said.

"Awww!" Anne exclaimed "That is possibly the sweetest thing you have ever said to me."

"I miss you, I miss you all the time and I want you with me, I want you in my life I want you there all the time, and this is my chance." He said with a smile.

"I'll have enough, maybe a bit more." She said. "Accommodation is expensive!" she smiled to which he nodded. She kissed him until her feet were back on the ground where she pulled back and exclaimed "Lets go and post my application!" she exclaimed pulling him by the hand.

* * *

"Gilbert!" His mother exclaimed pulling him into her as he walked into the house later that evening. "Hello Anne." She said to her quickly. "Thank god, thank god you both got here before she did."

"Mom?" he questioned "what's wrong?"

"Your Aunt Mary Maria is coming." Mrs Blythe said as if it was a fate worse then death.

Anne looked to Gilbert whose face pulled in horror and he looked to Anne "You know I love you right?" he asked Anne.

"Of course I do?" Anne asked him by the look on his face. "Who is your Aunt Mary?" Anne asked.

"Oh make sure you say both names Anne." Gilbert said seriously starting to coach her "Aunt Mary Maria." He repeated for her. "She's my father's aunty so technically not my Aunt at all."

"So your Grandpa's sister?" Anne asked.

"Yes, and she's awful!" Gilbert exclaimed.

"Gilbert!" his mother reprimanded. Gilbert looked at her his eyebrow raised "well you _shouldn't_ _say it."_

"When I was five I swore in front of her accidentally, I'd heard Charlie say it and I had no idea what it meant and you know the old saying, to wash someone's mouth out with soap?" he asked Anne.

"Yes." She said confused.

"She grabbed me by my ear and pulled me up to the bathroom and _literally_ washed my mouth out with soap."

Anne gasped in horror that anyone could do such a thing to a little Gilbert.

"Then when I was nine I thought Jim Morrison's hair was so cool." He said told Anne, "and I thought mine could be like that." Gilbert sighed "So I started to grow it, she came and took the sheep sheers and skinned my hair."

"Your beautiful curls." Mrs Blythe looked to her son sadly.

"She is poison Anne." Gilbert whispered to her. "Did you tell her I'm in a relationship?" Gilbert asked his mother.

"Yes." She admitted guiltily.

"Oh Man!" Gilbert exclaimed. "What did she say?" Gilbert asked

"She asked 'with a women?' Apparently you not dating was her way of thinking your gay." Mrs Blythe told him.

"What would be wrong with that?" Anne asked.

"Nothing, only she's homophobic." Gilbert quipped.

"Oh." Anne said looking at Gilbert "we're going to get on like a house on fire." Anne said flatly.

"Its not you Anne." Gilbert said putting his arm around her "honestly love." He whispered. He looked to his mother again holding Anne to him "When is she coming?"

"Your father has gone to get her from the airport."

"Today!" Gilbert exclaimed.

"I'm sorry she called when you went up to Green Gables." Mrs Blythe cringed. "And she was at the airport getting on a plane."

"I come home early for this?" he questioned. "And we were having such a wonderful afternoon." He said looking sadly at his mother "We had some good news to share, well potential good news." He said.

"Oh?" Mrs Blythe asked confused.

"I'm applying for a masters degree to university." Anne told her.

"At Redmond." Gilbert grinned.

"Anne!" Mrs Blythe exclaimed "Oh sweetheart that's wonderful!" hugging the girl.

"When she gets her place," Gilbert started "and she comes and lives in Kingsport, she's going to move in with me." He confirmed for his mother.

"OH!" Mrs Blythe exclaimed in excitement hugging the pair "Oh my baby boy!" she exclaimed "Oh that's so exciting!" she said pulling back. "Oh, you won't need to be apart anymore!" she squealed "Oh Gilbert, Anne that's wonderful!" she turned directly to her son and said "do you know what a good little cook you have in this girl, I think she will teach you a thing or two in the kitchen."

"That's right you can cook!" Anne remembered with a cheeky grin on her face.

"A talent I developed in my salad days." He smiled "My mamma taught me." He grinned, "I should cook for you, I haven't since..."

"Sophomore year, October." Anne grinned.

Gilbert chuckled "Oh god!" he exclaimed "Baked beans and hot dogs!" he laughed.

She smiled and nodded "Baked beans and hot dogs!"

"That doesn't sound very chef like!" His mother reprimanded him.

Gilbert winked at Anne and said "Okay, I'll have to _really_ cook for you!"

"You haven't yet!" Mrs Blythe exclaimed. "Young man, how did you woo this girl?!"

He looked at his mother then put on a false cockiness "Look at me!" he exclaimed which made Anne giggle and his mothers eyes roll.

"He's being humble," Anne teased "his wooing was of a much higher quality then that." Which made his mother laugh and for Gilbert's mouth to fall open in a fake shock. "He wooed me with his soul and mind." She smiled "the effects are ever so much more lasting." With that made him smile, the pair looking lovingly at each other for a few seconds where Mrs Blythe looked on proudly "plus a handsome face never goes a miss." She finally said, before the door swung open and his father came silently through the door, Anne had never seen him look so uncomfortable before, their eyes locked for a moment before another presence entered the room. Gilbert guarded Anne with his own body shielding her from said presence "Hello Aunt Mary Maria." Gilbert said humbly.

The women was a couple of inches shorter then Anne with icy blue eyes and grey hair. Anne looked for some kind of resemblance to a Blythe but there was none to her face or her demeanour, but there was nothing.

"You're hair is too long again." She eyed Gilbert who took a step back.

"I um, I, with medical school I..." he stuttered and Anne looked to him amazed, he looked nervous, and scared actually, scared.

"Um," she said dissatisfied with his answer "fancy mumbo jumbo school, you don't need it." She snubbed "You have a job right here on this farm. Being a farmer too humble for you?" she asked him sharply.

"N-No." Gilbert muttered. "I-I just wanted..." he trailed.

" _I, I_ that was always your problem Gilbert Blythe, you're selfish." She tutted " _Wanted_."

Anne's face dropped. Of all the things Gilbert was, he wasn't Selfish!

"And this is your girlfriend?" she stared at Anne then looked back at Gilbert "You could have had so many nice girls." She told him before she turned to Mrs Blythe "I want to rest, the flight has tired me." Mrs Blythe silently strained a smile and led her up the stairs.

Gilbert let out a sigh of relief as they heard them go up the stairs.

"Nice girls?" Anne whispered.

"Forget it." Gilbert whispered to her. "Don't listen to her." He told Anne holding her in close, Anne was amazed to find he was shaking, so she held him in a little closer. "Come on lets go to my room." He whispered. "We'll be safe once we're in there."

Ill fated as it was as they entered Gilbert's bedroom they heard her loud voice talking to Mrs Blythe "You let her in his bedroom with him?..." a pause where Mrs Blythe was speaking. "She sleeps in there?!" the exclaim was heard. "They're fornicating and you aren't doing anything about it?!" Gilbert quickly locked the door and moved away from it turning on some music pretending not to hear the insults from the other side of the door.

Anne looked wide eyed at the door as Gilbert stepped back staring at the same object. "We're going straight to hell." Anne said looking terrified.

"I doubt he cares whether or not we had sex before we got a piece of paper to confirm what we already know." He said quietly "we belong with each other." He whispered.

"Yeah." Anne smiled. "for better for worse." Anne teased to which Gilbert chuckled.

"Poison, the women is poison." Gilbert whispered to Anne.

* * *

Dinner at the Blythe's was unusually quiet that evening. Gilbert's leg was wrapped round Anne's beside him. He was looking down barely touching his food.

Cut across the silence Aunty Mary Maria's fork clattered on the plate and she proclaimed "well, John, I warned you, you've raised that boy all wrong and look at him now."

John stared silently at his food not looking up.

Mrs Blythe put down her fork and not one not to say what she was thinking said "There's nothing wrong with the way we raised Gilbert." She told the women.

"He's unmarried and having sex!" she proclaimed.

"He's in love and you couldn't expect it from our generation never mind this one." Mrs Blythe said.

"John regretted it." She said her arms folding, "and you can't pretend you didn't wish he hadn't slept with that Green Gables girl before _her_." She said referring to Mrs Blythe.

There was a stunned silence for a moment before Gilbert looked up amazed at his father "Dad?" he asked him.

"Green Gables?" Anne finally said quietly. "My Green Gables?" she questioned. "Ma-Marilla?"

"What does she mean 'My Green Gables'?" Aunt Mary Maria remarked.

Mrs Blythe spoke up for she was the only one not stunned "Anne was adopted by the Cuthbert's..." she started.

"And you're letting history repeating itself, I told you once I told you before the unsuitability of..."

This time John cut across "There is nothing unsuitable about it, not about Anne, not about Marilla and even though she wasn't from Green Gables you still find fault in my wife." He said sternly but still an unraised voice. "Gilbert is a grown man, he's a good man he works hard and has ambitions and is working hard to achieve them, and he's going to do it too, he'll make an excellent doctor rather soon, and never have I heard the word selfish and Gilbert used together in the context you keep using it, he's a good boy and would do anything for anyone without judgement or expectation of return. He's also well past the legal age of consent he can have a relationship with anyone he liked." The older women looked to John a little shocked as he spoke "and as it happens with Anne we do like, also, very much." He then raised to his feet and started to leave the room. "And I don't regret Rilla, I regret not making it up to her but I don't regret her, I never could." Before he opened the door and closed it behind him.

Aunt Mary Maria's nostrils flared in annoyance before she turned to Mrs Blythe and told her "You let the men have too much opinion in this household, John would never have spoken to me like that had my brother still been alive." With that said she stood up and left.

Mrs Blythe's arm went on the table her hand buried into her face. She looked to her son and to Anne, their mouths still agape in amazement. "You should find your father." She said to him gently. "I'll explain to Anne, but I think you need to hear it from you dad." Gilbert nodded his head, turned and kissed Anne softly on the cheek and left the room.

* * *

"Dad?" Gilbert called entering the hay shed. It was there he found his father with a pitch fork digging to the pile of hay and shoving it into a nearby pile.

John looked to his son shook his head and said to his son "I wish I could talk to that women! I don't know what brand of Blythe she came from but I would have hoped it was bred out years ago!" he exclaimed.

Gilbert pick up another pitch fork and starting digging with his father. They remained like that for a couple of minutes before Gilbert asked "So um, you and Marilla?"

"She was my high school girlfriend." John told him still shuffling hay "and I want you to know I was in love, I did love Marilla." He told Gilbert "and yes, for the record we were intimate too, and then one day _she_ came and critiqued Marilla." John's eyebrows quirked "Well you can imagine, back then Marilla was as outspoken as Anne as fiery as Anne and as sensitive as Anne." John stopped throwing the pitch fork into the hay and sitting on a bale close by. "She stood there and took it," John remembered "but afterwards she told me straight I should have defended her." John sighed "and maybe I should have, maybe it would have been different." John said "but when I refused to in front of Aunt Mary Maria, she may have lost her temper." John said his lips upturning with a raised eyebrow he looked to his son. "It wasn't a me or your family but I wouldn't speak up for her, and it broke down our relationship, She eventually went and never came back." He said his hand reaching behind neck rubbing it uncomfortably.

Gilbert had stopped and looked at his dad in amazement. "Dad." He said sympathically sitting beside him.

"I'm not sorry I met your mother, and I love her, I love her and its grown beyond anything else..."

"Dad, you're telling me you were in love with your _high school girlfriend_ , that's a _good_ thing surely?"

His father chuckled and his arm went round his son "I've got a good 'un." He said with a smile to his son which made him chuckle.

"Sooo," Gilbert said trying to analyse it "Marilla." He said with a smile. "You know I kind of get why." He said with a shrug. "She's smart, her sense of humour is so dry!" Gilbert chuckled, "She's like mom in a lot of ways." Gilbert nodded.

"Yeah, she was, well I suppose is if you're saying it." John acknowledged.

"They don't really look alike." Gilbert thought aloud.

"No, but you know as well as I do us Blythe boys don't look for looks do we?" John replied. "I told your mother what happened with Marilla so when she met my Aunt Mary Maria she was prepared, well your mom I suppose was a little older."

"What did she say about mom?" Gilbert jumped up ready to defend her.

"Pipe down Gil." His father teased him pulling him back down to sit back next to him.

They stayed quiet for a moment before Gilbert said "Thank you." He said. John looked to him confused "you defended Anne in there..." Gilbert started, where John shook his head.

"I won't have her poising your relationship with that sweet girl." John said.

Gilbert smiled and said "Even if we're fornicating?" Gilbert teased.

John rolled his eyes "I'm not worried about that." He chuckled. "You know we love Anne." John told his son.

"I know." Gilbert smiled, he thought back and looked to his dad "so when mom was mad with Anne and you wouldn't have a word said against Anne, do you think that was all about Anne?" Gilbert asked his dad.

"Don't try that academic stuff on me." John told his son straight.

"Alright." Gilbert acknowledged, "can I ask then, why did you never tell me, about Marilla, especially once I met Anne?"

John sighed "I didn't want you thinking that you were 'making up' for _my_ mistakes, its kind of poetic of course that the brilliant girl you loved so much was quite so much like Rilla, but I didn't want to pressure you."

"So when I said Anne had hit me across the head with the slate and she was from Green gables..." Gilbert started.

"Sounded just like Rilla." John smiled, which made Gilbert chuckle.

"Well," Gilbert shrugged with a smile to his father, the two men smiled at each other before they embraced "I love you Dad." He whispered.

"Love you too son."

* * *

Anne and Gilbert walked into Green Gables that night after eleven o'clock, when Anne saw Marilla she ran into her arms. Marilla looked wide eyed at Gilbert who shook his head and at Marilla's look Gilbert said to her "My great Aunt Mary Maria is visiting." Gilbert told her, and with that Gilbert saw a flare in her eyes which flashed in such a way he suddenly knew exactly what fire his father loved so much.

Marilla pulled back and looked at Anne "Now don't you listen to word that verminous snake tells you." She told Anne. "She nearly ruined one generations chances of happiness," she said to Anne before she told Gilbert "I won't let it happen to another." She told him.

Gilbert swallowed and said to Marilla "You don't blame my dad do you?" he asked her.

To which she shook her head "Not for a long time and many a year, once I had the chance to calm down." She said with a dry grin to Anne. "Now," she told them seriously "You two can stay here all you like until that women goes." Marilla told them "and tell your parents that extends to them as well." Marilla looked back to Gilbert "How long is she here for?"

"The week, she leaves the day before Christmas Eve." Gilbert said softly.

"A week." She nodded, "my home is your home." She smiled.

"I think I'm going to wash my face." Anne said quietly leaving Marilla and Gilbert on the veranda together.

Gilbert shifted towards the sofa on the veranda which sat opposite the chair Marilla was sitting on. He looked up to Marilla and sighed.

"You're father told you about us?" she questioned.

He nodded commenting "He really loved you."

Marilla nodded her lips pressed before she said very quietly "and it was returned."

Gilbert smiled and said "Good, I'm glad." He said sitting back on the sofa.

"I wish, I hadn't been as proud, my pride was hurt I... I was stubborn and shouldn't have been." Gilbert watched as she looked up at him, their eyes met and Marilla told him again "You, look like him, your dad, except your eyes, they're..."

"My mom's, I know." He said.

"You're a lot like him. Not just in looks, you seem to have a little bit more patience..." She commented, they sat quietly for a moment before she said "I was a lot more fiery back then, a lot like Anne..." she trailed.

"He said." Gilbert said with a grin.

Marilla's eyebrows quirked as her lips still a little pressed turned upwards.

"As for my patience, I'm glad I have the appearance of patience at least." he smiled looking at the older women.

Marilla laughed at this and told him "Don't let that women poison you, or Anne, Gilbert." She told him.

"I won't." He said. They paused again before he said "I hope, Marilla, with time, I'll show you, I'll prove to you how worthy I am of her."

Marilla looked up at him slightly bemused. "As soon as I heard the name Blythe, I knew you were worthy." She remarked "and I know your mother of course, until you two met it was by reputation." She continued "I'm glad your fathers happiness wasn't forever ruined because of what happened."

Gilbert looked at Marilla and said "that's extremely kind of you to say considering the circumstances."

"I never wanted your father miserable." Marilla told him.

"My dad married, he has a relationship..." he said heavily "...did she ruin your happiness?" Gilbert asked.

Marilla sighed heavily before she said quietly "For a while, but then a girl came into my home brightened every corner, repaired a old wound..." Marilla said looking to Gilbert.

"Anne." He nodded. "She fixes everything." He smiled.

"Even a lonely boy." Marilla said looking at him, Gilbert opened his mouth as if to ask how she could know that, but then remembered, caught himself and close his mouth. "And, anyway I'm glad you have such a good mother, I've got to know her since Anne broke that slate over your head, we talked over everything and I must admit I like her, she's definitely a wife of a Blythe." Marilla said with a smile.

Gilbert laughed "Yes, she is."

"She's brought up a really fine young man." She said looking at Gilbert.

"Thank you." He whispered.


	54. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 18

**Hi Folks,**

 **Sorry I'm late, this chapter was not behaving itself and has been through several edits, I think I'm twisting myself in pretzels, so I'm publishing it and hoping its okay, so support is needed!**

 **Yes, with last weeks revelation that they are both ready for moving in with each other, that they are willing to move forward and yes to some it was a long time coming, but they are moving in! And I'm doing it sooner rather then later because I don't want to focus too much on them being apart and I think I've already done it to death to be honest.**

 **Hope you all enjoy!**

 **love**

 **Carrots**

* * *

"There's eleven organ The 11 systems of the body are the integumentary, muscular, skeletal, nervous, circulatory, lymphatic, respiratory, endocrine,urinary/excretory, reproductive and digestive." Gilbert recited.

"Correct." Anne replied.

They were sitting crossed legged in the front room of Blythe Farm. Gilbert was revising the material set out in the first sermester and Anne sitting directly over from him was assisting in the revision.

"Some scientists add the immune system to this list to make a total of 12 organ systems, but most people consider the immune system to be a part of the lymphatic system. You may also find texts where the lymphatic and immune systems are both included within the circulatory system, which would give us a total of ten organ systems." He told her.

"Is that true?" she asked him amazed to which he nodded "how can you tell on a test which one is the right answer?" she asked him.

"The official number is twelve, its handy to know though, especially in research into the subject shows..." he started.

"You talk a lot around the subject." Aunt Mary Maria told him who was sitting in his mothers rocking chair across the room inspecting the two as they revised Gilbert's notes. "You need to be more focused." She told him.

Gilbert looked to Anne his eyes rolling "I think we need a cup of tea." He said generally to the room. "Or an Irish tea." He whispered in a hush to Anne. "Aunt Mary Maria?" he questioned.

"Yes Gilbert, plain sensible tea none of that hippy stuff you kids are into." She instructed.

Gilbert nodded as he went out of the room, Anne could hear from the sounds that he had indeed gone to the kitchen (where his mother had safe havened to).

Aunty Mary Maria scrutinized Anne again and said "You know it's a family curse." She told Anne. Anne looked at her puzzled for a moment before she continued "Blythe men, always have, always will, fall in love with the person who will bring about their downfall." She told Anne.

Anne sat confused for a moment before she replied politely "forgive me Miss Blythe but I see two generations of Blythe men who have fallen in love with people who only encourage them to become their best potential, I suspect it has long been that way."

"Oh you suspect do you?" She asked Anne, "and what can an orphan child know of love?"

"Apparently a great deal more then someone who had every opportunity to embrace it but by her own insecurities has pushed everyone away who ought to have loved her."

"You think you love Miss Shirley?" she snapped back at Anne, "Conceited vain little girl you can't have been through enough to know what love is and you have the audacity to speak to me like that? His Aunt? I know that boy, I've known him since he was a child and a girl like you will never please him."

Anne was ready with a reply but was interrupted by Gilbert who had appeared at the door "Anne-Girl?" he said softly to her. She looked up at him and Gilbert could see the fire in her eyes but also water, he looked at her bringing her back from the air to earth and said "My mother requested your help in the kitchen." He said to her. She silently, swallowed the pain in her throat, stood up and when passing Gilbert in the doorway their eyes met a sweet "I love you Anne-Girl" was enough of a balm to heal her wounded spirit and the kiss on the forehead was equally as sweet, Anne made her way into the kitchen.

Gilbert gathered his books he felt his great Aunts glare on him he looked back his hazel eyes turned a slight ice green looking at her.

"What?" she asked him.

He sighed then said to her "say what you want about me, don't talk to Anne again the way you just did."

"She can't love yo..." she started.

He dry chuckled then said quietly "You still don't get it do you? You can't see what's right in front of you?" Gilbert questioned. "You were wrong about Marilla, but you scared her off, glad of it too which is the shameful thing about it. Then you pick on my mother and then my girlfriend? Time after time, let me tell you a little something about Blythe men, being one I understand it a hell of a lot better then you. Blythe men, love strong women, women who could be independent who don't need us, but who want us, because that is what makes us feel loved." He said to her "to feel wanted." He said. "And you know something strange?" he questioned. "I think its what you want too." He told her trying to leave.

"Where are you going?" she asked him.

"My bedroom with Anne, where we can study without interruption."

"Or fornicate." She huffed.

Gilbert couldn't resist "we might just do that too."

* * *

"I'm so glad that at least you're Christmas wasn't affected by her Gilbert." His mother told him as soon as Aunt Mary Maria left the house. Anne was working that day and Gilbert wasn't at the hospital working, Doctor Dixon had given him a five day reprieve telling him to 'enjoy Christmas', with Anne not around during the day and up until that point an Aunt sneering at his every move he had quickly gathered his medical books set himself up in a corner of the front room his head down he spent the time studying until Anne would either come in and helped him study (his aunt sniffing at the action) or they would head back to Green Gables. Even Mrs Blythe took up the offer of when Aunt Mary Maria had taken a nap one day, John was out in the field, she had gone with Gilbert to Green Gables to 'restore her spirits'.

Gilbert smiled and took a deep sigh "well she's gone now, and only found it necessary to insult my hair, my upbringing, my education, my mother, my girlfriend..." he trialed with a smile.

"Gilbert everything she said about you being selfish and sinning..." she said sitting behind him and playing with his curls "You know none of it is true." She told him.

Gilbert sighed his pen falling into his book as his hand went across his face wiping along the jawline. "I wonder if..." he started.

"No." His mother said assertively.

"But it is selfish to..."

"No." His mother said again.

"...its expensive and..."

"You've worked hard for this chance Gilbert." His mother told him. "You've had scholarship after scholarship, you're fraternity knows this they gave you a chance at medical school you never would have had otherwise, if it weren't for your scholastic record." She said firmly.

"And what happens to this farm?" Gilbert said to her. "Hm? Mom?" he asked her.

"I think your father despite his past medical conditions still has a few years in him yet." She told her son "maybe one of your sons would like the farm?" she told him "did you ever think of that possibility?" she questioned.

" _One_ of my sons?" Gilbert said with a grin.

"Oh yes, you'll have at least three and you'll have daughters..." she said with a grin he knew all too well.

"Oh, have you let Anne in on the secret?" he chuckled.

"You'll both be fantastic parents." Mrs Blythe continued "I've seen Anne with Diana's girl." She said "Did you know Diana was pregnant again?"

Gilbert nodded and said "Diana told her as soon as she found out, well after she told Fred presumably..." he said with a thought "I don't actually know that..."

Which made Mrs Blythe laugh. "Do-do you not think about children?" she asked his son.

Gilbert looked up at his mother with raised eyebrows "We want them." Gilbert told his mother "its still too soon." Gilbert told her.

"Oh but its not!" His mother teased him her head going on his shoulder "You and Anne were _made_ for each other..." she told him again "and I can tell, I always can, the couples who will make it and the couples who won't." Which made her son chuckle.

"Mom, I need to be further through medical school, Anne is planning on a masters degree." He told her "Its not exactly productive to a child rearing environment."

"Well, you are moving in together." His mother said with a smile to him "it does give a mother a reason to hope."

* * *

"Happy Christmas Gil!" Anne said with a smile on her face, handing him a rather large box

It was early morning on Christmas morning and away from the eye of Great Aunt Mary Maria, Mrs Blythe was only too pleased to have Anne sleep over the night, they were to spend the morning there at Blythe farm have lunch there then head over to Green Gables for the rest of the day.

"I love presents!" he exclaimed a smile on his face "have I mentioned that before?" he asked her.

"Once or twice." Anne said with a smile in return.

"If you wanted to know what he was like as a child, this is it." His mother smiled.

"Can I open it?" Gilbert said bouncing again on his legs again.

Mrs Blythe chuckled as Anne said "Sure."

He whispered a "Yes!" under his breath opening the present quickly, it revealed a big white box, he opened the box revealing a ice hockey jersery for the Charlottetown Islanders "Cool!" he exclaimed.

"That's not all, look in the envelope." Anne smiled.

He looked confused for a moment and found the envelope in the box and opened it. "Tickets?!" He asked surprised. "Tour of the stadium?" he asked. "Oh my God! Anne this must have cost a fortune!"

"It honestly wasn't that much." Anne said with a smile to him which seemed to be ignored when he exclaimed

"I get to go on the ice!" he exclaimed with a smile.

"I think you should get to try out. Like you wanted to twenty years ago." Anne said with a smile to him. "Now the tickets are open to a date so you can go pretty much whenever you like." She told him to which he looked up "Couldn't have it interfering with school now could I?" Anne asked him.

"Wow!" he exclaimed happily, one hand going round Anne hugging her for a moment. "Anne this is so sweet!"

"Well you deserve it sweet man of mine." She said looking at him with admiration.

Mrs Blythe smiled at the pair who had seemed to have forgotten her or John's presence in the room, not that there was any inappropriate happening rather an intimate silence, one which was reflection of when they were alone, she supposed. She watched as their eye contact didn't break for a few seconds and when it did she knelt in beside him his arm hugging her into his chest, his lips planting a kiss into her hair then he whispered something to her which made her smile. Mrs Blythe smiled and blushed away. She always thought when it came to letting go of Gilbert to another women it would be a difficult thing to do.

 _Trusting someone else with the her son's heart was inconceivable and to be honest the day they had talked those many years ago about love and intimacy she had sighed in relief when he said he didn't feel that way about anyone in Avonlea, then one day he had come home. She had looked in his hair to the foreign object in there as he sat on the floor working on his homework. She was behind him then John was sitting across from her directly in front of them._

 _"Gilbert?" She questioned pulling the unknown piece from his hair. "What's this?" she asked him._

 _"Oh nothing." Gilbert muttered and blushed slightly trying to retrieve the object from his mother._

 _"It looks like...slate?" she questioned._

 _Gilbert grabbed at it, turned and put it on the table beside him silently hoping the conversation would just disappear. "How did slate get in your hair?" she asked him._

 _"I, um, I don't know." He said quietly._

 _John peered over his newspaper and looked at his wife with a raised brow._

 _"You don't know?" she questioned._

 _"I guess..." he shrugged as if trying to think of something "I guess a roof tile, or something?" he asked._

 _"A roof tile?" Mrs Blythe questioned sensing he was lying for some reason "from school? We should let Miss Stacy know then Gilbert, if they school is missing a tile there might be a leak."_

 _"You don't need to let Miss Stacy know." Gilbert said to his mother._

 _"I should go in tomorrow." She said with a knowing glint to John._

 _"No Ma, please!" he almost begged turning to look at her "just leave it."_

 _"You're begging over a roof tile?" she questioned._

 _He blushed more turning and trying to focus again on his work. "I was teasing someone, she didn't deserve it but she got mad with me and broke her Bunsen slate over my head."_

 _"She?" his mother emphasised. "A girl did this to you?" she looked to John "and who are these girls parents that they let her loose her temper quite so easily?" she asked._

 _"I'd be impressed if you did know them, they died about fourteen years ago, she's been adopted by the Cuthbert's up at Green Gables." Gilbert remarked._

 _"Green Gables you say?" Mrs Blythe said with a look to John who disappeared again back behind his newspaper._

 _"And it wasn't her fault it was mine, I was teasing her relentlessly, she'd ignored me all period." Gilbert said (he couldn't see his father chuckling behind his newspaper)._

 _Mrs Blythe tutted "You shouldn't have been teasing her."_

 _"I just wanted to say hello!" he exclaimed._

 _"Then maybe that would have gone down better." His mother told him._

 _"Look, I get it okay?" he told his mother "I deserved what I got okay? She hit me across the head with her slate, she now won't talk to me, and I have to go to detention with her until she decides to talk to me so you know that could be forever, and now the most interesting person who has ever appeared in Avonlea hates me, she thinks I'm some dumb jock and I have to prove myself to her, that I'm worthy of her alright?" he slammed his books shut gathered them together standing up he headed for the door "I think that's punishment enough don't you?" and with it he opened and shut the door behind him the sound of his feet stamping up the stairs was the only sound for a few seconds._

 _"Worthy of her?" Mrs Blythe observed. "Prove himself? You don't think Gilbert could..."_

 _With that John looked over his paper his brown eyes laughing merrily._

 _"You Blythe boys don't make it easy on yourself do you?" Mrs Blythe smiled._

 _"Might do his some good." John observed "girls have made it far too easy for him for far too long."_

 _"He's never..." Mrs Blythe started._

 _"I know." John stated calmly. "but if he's fallen..." John shrugged. "You better cut that umbilical cord." John smiled._

Mrs Blythe had looked to John shocked that day but gradually she had come to realise Gilbert had fallen in love, and when she met Anne! Oh How grateful she had been it was Anne!

Now as she watched them, she found it hard to believe they had ever been apart, her son was happy his heart had been trusted to her, she knew, she had known they would be together one day. She smiled thinking of their future, of all the things they had to look forward to, and she sighed contently.

* * *

She was given an invitation to a rooftop. Initial she thought it was strange but relaxed a little when she found both Anne and Gilbert were attending also, although they were being a bit mysterious as to who the host was or how many people were attending Anne had convinced her to come along and as requested in formal wear. She chose to wear a red pencil dress which was covered in red lace with a ruffled sleeve on only one shoulder (the other being off shoulder in a flamenco style) and the knee length skirt had a slit upto her mid thigh the dress was both modest enough to be more grown up compared to what she used to wear but still edgy to be young and fun.

The apartments were brand new in Avonlea, only just finished being built in October she couldn't imagine who she knew who could live there already. The building wasn't a skyscraper but still from the roof would give a beautiful view of Avonlea. She climbed the stairs on the inside of the building to the top apartment in the building. She knocked on the door to be surprised by who opened the door.

"Charlie?" she questioned.

The boy was temporarily silenced by the girl although her presence was the exact thing he desired he looked at her for a moment and swallowed before he said "Hello Josie."

She looked at him confused and said "I'm sorry, I couldn't find a way up to the rooftop." She told him.

"No, you won't find a way outside my apartment." He told her.

"Oh your apart-?" she paused confused. "You live here?"

"When I got home, I was very quick to figure out that home was a very small place for me to live in now, I had been accustom to my own space and my own room, but with three younger brother..." he trailed.

"Yes, I imagine it would be quite chaotic." She said with a smile.

"I have a good wage coming in so, I suggested moving here, my parents helped of course but I'm paying them back too and its not too far from home." He said. "Plus I'd have a penthouse of my own."

Josie's eyes rolled. She had known the moment Gilbert had moved into the Lambs Penthouse Charlie had been green with envy. The envy only ran deeper after Charlie had imposed on Gilbert, his soul aimed seemed to be outdoing everything Gilbert had achieved and Josie had been concerned about just how self destructive Charlie's aims had been. Josie would happily have lived the life she had rather then endure what must have been a horrendous five years which Gilbert did, she knew her blessings, Charlie didn't seem to. He brought out his hand and offered her to come in, which she did.

Josie looked around the apartment. "I know its not as big as Gilbert's but I think the roof terrace makes it really special." He told her. "its a one bedroom and I have to do the washing downstairs with the rest of the building..." he trailed.

Josie left the small corridor and entered the room looking around. He was right that it wasn't as big as Gilbert's. The room had in a sofa and a chair along with a coffee table which was directly in front of the TV which was on the wall, there was a window opposite them and on the same wall was the stairs she assumed went upstairs to the roof terrace, There was a computer desk in front of them and a small table against the wall with the window on it. The small corridor she had just came up had three doors off the other side, one of which she could see was the kitchen as the door was open, the other two a bedroom and bathroom presumably.

"Its cozy." Josie remarked.

"You hate it?" he questioned.

"No, I didn't say that." She told him. "Don't put words in my mouth."

She looked at him expecting a fight when he thought for a moment and nodded his head "my apologises Josie, you're right."

Josie was surprised by this and she asked him "What am I doing here Charlie?" she asked him.

"I... I want us to try again." He told her something which made her shake her head for a moment "no please, hear me out." He asked of her, something which with a pause and a look at him she did. "I don't mean like the other times." He admitted. "Anne and I, actually talked, that night you were out on your girls night out and we've talked again since, she broke no confidence Josie, but she gave me the idea, to woo you again, to start over, not to act like I know you and you don't deserve the whole new romance stuff because we need to get to know each other again, we need to become acquainted properly and not just think we can jump in and out of this relationship when things get tough but to get acquainted enough that when they do get tough, we run to each other for help, we stick together, because that's what I want."

Josie looked at him silently for a moment. She had hoped for a day like this, the truth was she knew Charlie very well which was what concerned her to begin with. Charlie had boasted about girls he kissed, made out with got to various bases with, even notches. When they had got together Josie had made very clear she was not a 'notch' to be counted. She had rules, she had high standards, she had been two boys' notches and she didn't like it, she was there for a relationship, but there was a sincerity in his eyes now, a hope a wish she hadn't seen in a long time. "You want to get to know me?" she asked.

"Yes please?" he asked her.

She nodded before he took her by the hand and led her up the stairs to the roof terrace.

She gasped as she saw what was out in front of her.

Despite the cold winter air there was a blast heater under a table which had been covered with a white tablecloth and a glass covering twinkle lights and twinkle lights lighting the wall beside the table and the pathway to the table. Josie smiled as she walked to the table, he pulled out her chair and offered it to her, she sat and was surprised by just how much heat was coming from the heater, then made himself comfortable opposite her.

"Anne, helped." He told her. "With the decorations, she has these kind of things, well so says Gilbert."

"I thought they were coming tonight?" Josie questioned.

"We are here." Anne said, it seemed they had come out of no where but it was still quite dark on the roof top they had been waiting in their tuxes each with a tea towel.

"We shall be your waiters tonight." Gilbert said with a smile.

"You... You..." Josie said confused.

"House wine." Charlie said with a grin to them "and can you please bring out the starters?" he asked them.

"Happily." Anne said with a grin as they both turned and headed to the door opening it to go inside.

"You have Gilbert and Anne as waiters?" Josie questioned.

"They volunteered." Charlie said with a grin appearing at his lips. "They are quite romantic you know."

"Yes but Charlie, its new year eve, don't you think they might want to see in the new year a little differently?" Josie questioned.

"They want to help rekindle a romance." Charlie said to her again. "I don't know, in their own way... and anyway I was planning on asking them to join us for the cheese and wine afterwards and I thought it might be fun to go in and watch something together to see the new year in."

Josie was surprised by that. Charlie often didn't think of others before himself, maybe things really had changed "that would be fun." Josie admitted.

"I know." Charlie said. "So would you like that?" he asked her.

"I would." She agreed.

"Good, I'll ask them when they come back up." He said. "So Josie." He started as if they were just getting to know each other again. "How is your course going?" he asked her.

"Good." She told him. "I um, I got my first 'A' grade this semester." She told him.

Charlie looked up at her a smile came across his face "Congratuations!" he said to her clearly delighted "I always told you, that you were smart enough to get an 'A'." He reminded her.

"I know." She said quietly.

"Josie I'm so proud of you!" He exclaimed.

"Thanks." She said with a slight blush.

"So um, have you been seeing anyone?" he asked her.

She looked to him and said defensively "I don't think you have any right to ask that." She told him "considering what happened when I was out with the girls over the summer."

"There's been no one since." He told Josie "and Anne made sure she was scared off." Charlie told her which made Josie smile smugly. "The off bits, The off bits there was another four girls I slept with." He told her.

Josie looked at him her face a storm "why are you telling me that now?!"

"Because I wasn't being honest before, I wasn't treating you with any love, any respect... no wonder you had one foot out the door, I'm not surprised you thought I was cheating."

She swallowed then looked out over the town for a moment "Not while we were together?" she asked him.

"No, never." Charlie told her. "Never ever, Josie I swear." He said taking her hands. "I um, with our relationship being the way it was and the way my course went at university, I know I didn't want to be there, but I've been on depression tablets." He told her.

"I know you were, depressed that is." Josie said to him. "I didn't know you were getting help for it, I thought you'd be too proud."

"Since the summer, I've been spending some time with Anne, the girl should have been a psychologist, it was at her suggestion I get the help, I know she doesn't tell Gilbert everything I tell her..."

"She wouldn't." Josie said "Anne was always good at keeping confidences, she wouldn't tell Gil unless you told her it was okay to do so, I don't even think then she would, only if it was to concern him."

"Anne said there was no shame in getting help, that it showed great strength to get the help I needed." Charlie told her. "She said, she said, it wasn't too late for us, she seemed to think..."

"She's right." Josie told him to which Charlie looked up surprised.

"I'm of course not blaming you for it, because I don't think there is blame, its just everything was on top of me for a while and I was taking it out on you, on the very creature I loved most in this world." He told her. She looked up wide eyed at him.

* * *

Anne started to arrange the sourbread which had been toasted with tomato, basil and Mozzarella onto the plate and she felt a pair of arms go around her and squeeze her from behind.

"You, my love..." he whispered "are such the romantic."

Anne smiled and whispered to him "Well...," she smiled softly "Charlie is in love, he just needed the help to express it." She spoke carefully, "and I maintain when Charlie isn't trying to be a Sloane, he's possibly a very genuine person."

"Well, trust you to see past the Sloane in him." Gilbert said kissing into her neck.

She sighed at the gesture enjoying their own romance. "And you Mr Blythe," she smiled "You find romance in other people's?" she questioned him.

"Its sweet, its kind, its incredible you have part in this." He smiled turning her in his arms "Its so typically you."

"Well," she grinned looking up into his eyes "I learned from the best." She said her eyelids battering at him.

He grinned by way of return to the compliment. Kissing her lightly on her lips. "Come on." She smiled. "They'll be wanting his starters."

Gilbert looked at the plate and picked up the wine close by "I didn't know Charlie can cook?" he questioned.

"Oh," Anne said a smirk coming across her face "he can't."

Gilbert looked to her and exclaimed "You taught him to cook!?"

"Well, I had to!" Anne retaliated.

He smiled as they walked through the living room "God, I love you Anne Shirley."

* * *

Gilbert was sat back on the sofa his arm around Anne, they were comfortably hugging in close side by side their hands interwoven. It had actually been a fun night, Gilbert's bow tie was now disregarded his top button undone, his shirt untucked, there was a couple of times he wondered why Anne's hand wasn't under his shirt stroking at his stomach, then he realised they weren't at home, she couldn't just slip her hand under his shirt in front of other people! Instead her hand was in his he looked at her in his tired state, tired but content. He looked over at Charlie and Josie, a stunned under breath chuckle escapsed his mouth which made Anne look up to him confused his eyes widened his head nodded towards they pair who were basically making out on the sofa next to them. Anne looked at Gilbert and nodded her own head towards the door, they quietly left the room, put their coats on and headed out into the cold winter night.

Gilbert's hand slipped into Anne's as they walked down the street "I think you fixed it." He smiled.

"I didn't love." Anne said softly "It's not fixed fully, they need to work on it." She admitted as they turned onto Main Street, their shortcut into the woods at the end of the street they walked quietly down the town "its so quiet." Anne observed with a smile.

"it often is." Gilbert said with a smile then with a shrug "at least when you're driving out of here 5am in the morning, I think the only thing open then is the bakery, for deliveries."

Anne nodded and said "Yes, it is that quiet that time of day." Anne acknowledged, "there's something about Avonlea." Anne said softly "it has such a history..."

"Been here since the early 1800s." Gilbert nodded "It has such history." He confirmed.

"I wonder what they used to do to sweetheart." Anne smiled as they reached the cut which took the down to the lake.

Gilbert grinned as it came into view, the moonshine reflecting in seemly still the water. His arm wrapped around Anne's back and he whispered "I think this might have had something to do with it." He grinned.

Anne took a deep sigh and smiled "Oh Gil, this place, its part of us isn't it?" she asked him which made him smile. "I don't want to think I could love Kingsport." She told him, "not because I didn't enjoy the time I had there, because it was a kind of home, but I don't think I could love it like I love Avonlea."

"You said something very similar the day we left for Kingsport, do you remember? That first time we left Avonlea together?" he asked her.

"You came and sat next to me and put your arm around me." She whispered.

He grinned and confirmed "I did!" he turned into her slightly "and you know what I wanted to say?" he asked her.

"No, what?" she asked in return.

"That home, to me, was wherever you were, that you weren't going through it all alone, that you had me, that you would always have me and that, Kingsport will never be Avonlea, and its okay to like both, its okay to love both and that whatever life threw at us, we'd have each other for our home." He said with a grin as she turned toward him her arms going around his middle "I can say it now."

"That's beautiful." She smiled looking up at him through her eyelashes. "You're so much more poetic then you first appear Gilbert."

He chuckled at this "Well I've had six years to think about it." He confirmed which made her laugh her head digging into his chest for a moment.

"Oh if only..." she started before he kissed her firmly on the lips.

He pulled back and made sure his hands landed on her hips "Please Anne, remember no 'if only's...'" he asked of her.

She sighed contently her arms going around his neck "Okay." She whispered closing her eyes enjoying his embrace as he wrapped his arms around her his hands landing round the bottom of her back. "It must be nearly midnight." Anne said quietly, which made Gilbert look at his watch.

"Five to." He acknowledged.

"Lets see in the new year at the miller's bench." She smiled taking him by the hand and taking him the short walk down the lakeside to a bench which overlooked the lake, from where they were sitting they could see their bridge, the quiet sound of frogs in the distance and the late night hoot of the owl. "Now, this, this is how they would have wooed their ladies." Anne smiled as Gilbert's arm went around her.

"Ah see now, I must try and woo you!" he exclaimed with a chuckle.

"Yes please." Anne said her nose going in the air a little "I'd like to be wooed."

"Okay, alright, how about..." he grinned then looked her directly in the eyes "Do you have a map? Because I'm lost in your eyes!" he said smoothly.

"Shut up!" Anne laughed play slapping his knee "You know that can't work!" she said.

"No?" he questioned.

"No!" Anne replied. "Too Cheesy!"

"Cheesy?!" he questioned with a chuckle "Alright okay..." he said his eyebrows knitting together for a moment in thought "If I said you had a nice body would you hold it against me?" he tried.

Anne's brows creased downwards in thought before her eyes rolled "No!" she objected again her head shaking "Come on real, romance Gil..." she trailed.

He thought for a moment before he nodded and he looked into her eyes deeply "I could tell you how beautiful you are, how wonderful and sweet, kind and loving you are, and they would all be true, I won't ever deny it." He said with a smile "I can't tell you what made me fall in love you with, I just know I am." He told her softly, "and that I love you more and more each day." He grinned as she smiled just the way he wanted her to. "And I can not believe just how lucky I am to be moving in with you."

"Only if I get on the Masters programme." She told him seriously.

"You'll get on." He said with a rye smile.

"He looked at his watch again and saw it ticking 30 seconds till midnight "30 seconds." He said with a grin. "well you know what they say, to start the year as you mean to go on." he leaned in their lips touched gently before he moved closer in. "I love you." He told her.

She pulled back a little and whispered to him "I love you too Gilbert."

"Happy New Year." He told her.

"Happy new year." Before they kissed solidly again. This time when they moved way they stood silently and walked up to Blythe Farm, they quietly went up the stairs and into bed where his arms slipped around her again, when she felt him close behind her she closed her eyes contently and whispered to him, "Gil?" She whispered.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"When you come back in the summer, when you come back, can that night, the night before you come back, can that be the last night we're apart for?" she asked him. "I don't mean on call I know you will be, but what I mean is from that point onwards we're..."

"together? We're living together?" he asked her.

"Yeah." She confirmed.

"Yeah." He confirmed back.

"Gil?" she repeated.

"Yeah?" he questioned.

"I'm in love with you too." Gilbert squeezed her a little in his arms and the corners of his mouth played a smile passed the point of consciousness.


	55. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 19

_Hi All,_

 _This story may go on forever do you all know that?_

 _I have had a hard time with times on this chapter, it covers quite a large section and I found it difficult to write!_

 _Thanks **CatieGirl** , your advice hopefully shows, though I think the timeframe of this chapter is even tighter then you might have thought, which does imply it was needed so thanks! _

_Welcome back **Kim Blythe** I think you are all up to date now!_

 _love_

 _Carrots_

* * *

 _14 Feb,_

 _Dearest Gilbert,_

 _During your Christmas break love I asked you to woo me the old fashioned way, and I realised love, that I didn't woo you in 'the old fashioned way'. Many have said of our generation that the art of writing a letter has been lost, so I thought this would be an excellent chance to prove people wrong and to woo. So of course, this letter should not be viewed as practical, because there is no practicality in love letters, but a letter from the heart, which hopefully in years to come with remind you of the old flame which was lit in Avonlea, I hope in that day I find that it will still burn brightly as it did the first day you pulled on my pigtail in class (no, you shall never live that down love!)_

 _So here I am, a hopeless romantic getting to write a love letter to you, and what to write seems so alien to me, for I am used to expressing myself in quick texts the fewer words the better right? I mean sometimes we don't even write words anymore just a long line of pictures. So forgive me if I need to pry out the Jane Austen in me._

 _Or perhaps the John Keats in me, he said "My love has made me selfish. I cannot exist without you – I am forgetful of every thing but seeing you again – my Life seems to stop there – I see no further. You have absorb'd me…I would be martyr'd for my Religion – Love is my religion – I could die for that – I could die for you…"_

 _Could love be selfish? I mean really?_

 _What we said about not being able to put our finger on a moment where we fell in love that we were already there by the time we realised, its true. But its because, or at least it was for me that the kind of love you showed, you shared with me was so unselfish that by the time I realised I loved this about you or I loved that about you it was already so unselfishly given and shared that I loved you already, that feeling was already there._

 _And I have to ask myself something Gilbert and it worries me, I know you never shared such intimacy with the others, and by intimacy I mean the little stories about who you are, the little boy who wanted to play ice hockey, the teenage boy who thought he was selfish and caused his father pain, the boy who I didn't know just a year before hand, how lonely he was, I've had from several people, I've seen it that they don't know these things about you, that you were quiet and reserved with everyone, everyone except an undeserving redhead with a bad temper, and I have to question, why me?_

 _I'm glad its me, I'm glad every moment of every day I know you and I really know you, I know all of you and I want to share forever with you._

 _I don't know if I say it enough Gilbert, but that time we spent apart while you were in New York and I was with Roy, I can't begin to tell you how much I missed you! Every second, I felt it and the fact I was dreaming of you, that it was just us, how we were before it happened, I think it shows how much I missed you, I missed your wisdom and I missed your advice, I missed your smile and the way you could put me at ease so easily. And I know we promised not to look back in our relationship but I think it's important that we do, because we had such a kinship and it made our love. This real tangible love which I can touch, I can see and hear, smell and taste, but love I also **feel**! I've never felt anything like it before and you know something, I'm glad!_

 _..._

 _Do you know, Gilbert, there are times when I strongly suspect that I love you!_

 _Forever yours_

 _Anne._

* * *

 _17 Feb_

 _Dear Anne,_

 _I can't believe you sent me a love letter! I mean that in only one way love, and that is how lucky I am that you love me! Me, and on Valentines day too (funnily enough we spent the day studying the human heart, do you think that was on purpose?) You could have a man write sonnets about, oh I don't know your eyebrows (they are lovely and even sweetheart and the same colour), or write verses which could sweep you off your feet, but you chose me! Inarticulate, practical, not at all melancholy me! Oh Anne, the romance you might have known, instead you chose the wag I am, (Oh on paper its a miracle **anyone** fell in love with me, never mind **you**!)_

 _Trust you to want to woo me the old fashioned way, oh and Anne, love, you do! You must have the exact right kind of pen my love! But then, you are an authoress so its no wonder you can write a love letter so well._

 _I, your faithful servant, am a simple medical school student and as such all I can write in return is that I love you. I'm writing this instead of studying for my reproductive system review love, is that romantic enough for you?_

 _You asked me sweetheart, why I shared myself with you, why I'm so willing to share my life with you when I'm quite introverted with other people. Honestly, fully, I don't know the answer to it, but I suspect its a few things._

 _When you came to Avonlea, you didn't know me. All my life I've been with the same people who had been more or less the same people since we started school. When I was a child I was quite the extrovert and I suppose by the time I had met you, life had changed me and I wasn't that same person I was the day I started kindergarten, yet everyone treated me as if I was the same person. You, were new, you were from outside of that circle and you fascinated me. I mean you were brand new and you rejected me! Crazy me, saw that as a challenge and I wanted you to like me, so I shared with you those intimate moment, even when you hated me, because I suppose all that time ago I told you, you could trust me, but in order for you to trust me, I needed to trust you. I wanted to, I suppose, I wanted you, right from the start I wanted your friendship, your trust and slowly I wanted more, and Anne, if only you knew how much I still **want** you! I find myself impatient with this term because I want to be with you! I can't wait to start our lives together!_

 _When I was in New York and then when you were with Roy, do you want to know something so hopelessly romantic? I pined. I pined after you, and I don't say that easily Anne, but its true I pined! When I came back from New York and you had changed your hairstyle, you didn't have your parents necklace on anymore, and sweetheart, what worried me the most was that you looked sad, you had this sadness in your eyes I had never seen before, although you gave pretty smiles, and that first time I saw you at the dance my hand was drawn to yours, I wanted to hold your hand and comfort you, to tell you everything would be okay and my love, you didn't look like **my** Anne and I was utterly ashamed of myself for thinking of you like that, because you weren't! You weren't **my** Anne, and you want to know a secret? I seriously thought my chance of ever being with you was well and truly over. I couldn't just read you, it was like we were back in detention again and I didn't know you ever. See pining! You know, that night, the night you told me everything, Charlie told me to run after you and I'm glad I listened. I know it wasn't back to normal immediately but I know, and I know you know, it fixed what went wrong. My Anne, you're right, so much of our relationship was made in our past and we should look back and rejoice in it! It made us, us!_

 _I find myself wanting to talk to you about the practical things happening but I know these letters aren't meant to be practical they are meant to be romantic! Six paragraphs, my romantic pen lasts six paragraphs! (I'm not sorry but I am sorry you've ended up with me!)_

 _You know something love?_

 _I love you too!_

 _Love Gilbert._

* * *

Anne smiled at his letter and pulled out her phone.

 **Anne-Girl** : I got your letter x

 **Gil** : Good I'm glad, the Canadian postal service still stands.

 **Anne-Girl** : Hey Gil?

 **Gil** : Yeah.

 **Anne-Girl** : I was always _your_ Anne. ;-)

 **Gil** : :-) Good I'm glad. Right back at you. I love you.

 **Anne-Girl** : I love you too.

* * *

"What are you doing out here Anne?" Marilla asked her, finding Anne sitting in the porch. She sat on the sofa swing which had sat on the porch for as long as Marilla could remember but something about Anne made it seem a little younger a little fresher. But tonight, she found Anne sitting on said sofa swing not rocking it she was sitting perfectly still as if she were a statue, had it not been for the peak of red hair Marilla never would have known Anne was sitting there at all, Anne's eyes snapping out of a gaze. "What are you studying so intently?" Marilla asked her.

"Nothing really," Anne admitted her eyes focusing on her company "Only, the past the future..." she said mysteriously.

"Like all the great philosophers." Marilla tried lightly, knowing where Anne had been in her mind.

"I deserve no such praise." Anne admitted with a little smile tugging at her lips.

"I think even Plato succumbed to thinking of love sometimes." Marilla said with a knowing smile which made Anne look at her curiously for a moment, wondering if Marilla had read her mind for the spilitest of seconds before Anne smiled an burst into a short giggle.

"Oh Marilla, when did I scoop so low as to be pining after him." Anne laughed.

"Hardly scooping low." Marilla said to her. They were silent for a moment before Marilla spoke gently "It's a long time to be apart for a young couple."

Anne sighed her knees tucking under her chin she looked to Marilla and said "He's working so hard it seems selfish to be asking him to skype all the time, and I know we're virtually in the same room..." she stopped and sighed.

"But that's just the nick of it isn't it?" Marilla said wryly.

"Virtually." Anne mirrored, she sighed again and said quietly "I have an interview for my master's programme on the 5th April." Marilla looked to her shocked for a moment before Anne admitted "I wanted to tell him first because he was the first person I thought of, but I haven't even told him." She admitted quietly. "I've not had the chance." She admitted "he's in the hospital this term, its more observing more then taking part but he's there and then he's got his lectures and his tests for actually working in the hospital coming up he's working hard towards them, he's packing so much in and I know its that, he just, he doesn't want to seem distant so we don't even skype like we used to.

Marilla looked at the strain on Anne face before she answered to her "Well maybe you can surprise him." She tried. Anne looked to Marilla with a weak smile and she nodded in agreement, Marilla could read the worry on Anne's face "he does love you." She assured her.

Anne sighed again admitting "when I'm with him, I'm really in no doubt, I see it in the way he is, its the same look the same touch, I know, I just know." She continued "but when we're apart and I know it it's just..." she shook her head her forehead going to her knees.

Marilla looked sadly at her "I wish I could make it easier for you, but you know, right now, your life, unlike Gilbert's doesn't revolve around term and semesters, just remember it when you plan to move to be with him." Marilla told her "and don't feel obligated to us, when you come home with Gilbert, which you will, we shall be content to see you then."

* * *

"Hey Beautiful!" He said smiling seeing her as he exited the hospital the early April afternoon, Anne had known by the rushed texts that day which entrance to find him come out from, and she stood close enough to the doors that there was no way he couldn't have spotted her coming out, "I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow!" he exclaimed giving her a quick kiss before his arm went around her.

"I actually had a couple of reasons for coming down early." She told him as they walked towards her car which was parked a little away.

"Really?" he asked looking at her interested.

"I had my interview at the university for the masters degree today." She told him with a slight smile.

He looked at her shocked "Anne Shirley!" he exclaimed "Why didn't you tell me that?!" he asked her.

"I didn't want to worry you, you've got all this work to do and don't pretend you aren't filing up with notes upon notes upon notes!" she said to him with a knowing smile on her face now.

"Alright," he admitted "maybe I would have worried a little for you but I would have been more excited for you."

"Another good reason not to tell you!" she exclaimed with a laugh of relief "I would have had the added pressure of not disappointing you!"

"You could never disappoint me Anne." He told her quite seriously. She looked to him and gave him a relieved smile. "So how did it go?" he asked her.

"Pretty well I would say," She remarked offhanded as they approached her car, she stopped them and turned to look at him. "They gave me an unconditional offer on the spot!" She said.

His jaw dropped and he cried out a "Yes!" dropping his books on the ground and picking her up suddenly in exclaim. "I knew it, Oh I knew it Anne-Girl!" he told her as he held her close in the hug, a hug she fully returned.

"I'm glad you always have such confidence in me." She said with a smile as he placed her carefully back down and picked up his books, she turned to the car and opened the trunk "Which brings me onto my second bit of news." She said happily, reaching into a box in the trunk of the car and taking out (for a few seconds at least) an unknown book. "This is for you." She said with a smile to him.

He looked down at the book. The front cover had a beautiful scene on from Prince Edward Island which showed the red sand glittering in the morning sun, the waves breaking against the shore, it was unmistakably home. He smiled as he read aloud the title "Avonlea Vignettes" his smile broke into a full on grin as he read again "By Anne Shirley." He looked up at her and stated "Your book!" he almost shouted in excitement picking her up again and holding her in "Its here! Your book!" he exclaimed "I knew it, I know you Anne Shirley I told you, I said you could do it!" he exclaimed.

She chuckled at his reaction, loving him for being so excited for you "You've yet to see the best part yet, open it at the dedicatory page." She said softly.

He looked confused at her for a moment but turned none the less to the said page and read aloud " _To Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert for their unfailing love and support_ ," he smiled at it before his eyes read the next line in amazement, Anne could see him re-reading it before he whispered with a little quiver in his voice " _and for Gilbert,_ my love _, who inspired me with the idea in the first place_." He looked again at the words as if they were about to disappear into thin air. "Anne." He whispered finally looking up at her.

She grinned looking at his reactions, "You, my love, are my muse." She whispered.

Both his arms wrapped around his girl. His head held into her neck, their bodies aligned so they were embraced as close as they could be. She smiled there and whispered to him "I can't believe this is happening!"

"Believe it babe." He smiled pulling back just for a moment to kiss her. "Come on," he said with a wicked smile spreading across his face "I want to get you back to _our_ apartment."

Anne laughed before they kissed again and then got into the car, they remained silent until they left the hospital parking lot before she said to him. "My interviewer at the university was Professor Cooper." She told Gilbert.

"Ah! No wonder! He always did have a soft spot for you!" Gilbert chuckled.

"When I said I was getting published he said he would call the publisher directly and get it put in the university bookstore." Anne told him.

"High praise." He smiled at her.

"And Andrew has ordered in two hundred copies, I think he thinks everyone in Avonlea will want one." She chuckled.

"And if they don't they'll have me to answer to." Gilbert said with his smile twisting slightly. "I think he'll need more copies." Gilbert said looking down again at the book. He opened the pages and started reading the book.

"We'll be home in a few minutes." Anne observed.

"That's a few minutes I can read." He said with a grin on his face but not lifting his eyes from the pages. They were silent for a few moments before Gilbert looked up a smile appeared on his face and he said "You said _home_."

"I did." She smiled. "Green Gables will always be home, but you're right wherever you are, there is home also."

He kissed her cheek then settled back down to read.

Anne was right, it only took a few minutes to get back to his apartment building, the four by four parked next to his Mini, he didn't look up from the book reading it as they walked towards the elevator. She smiled as they had to wait for the elevator, she doubt he even noticed his head still not up from the book the elevator 'binged' they walked into the elevator one arm went faithfully around Anne the other held the book as he read it.

"You know you have the author right here." She said to him with a smile.

He finally looked up confused for a moment then he chuckled and said "Anne, this is fantastic."

"You're bias." She told him.

"You think a little thing like being in a relationship with you taint my inner critic." He said with a grin to her almost whispering it to her, his nose stroking up her cheek. "Never!"

She giggled as he held her closer where he kissed her on her earlobe just as the elevator binged on the ground level, they separately slightly his arm still around her, Gilbert turned his attention back to the book but Anne's eyes couldn't leave the women who entered the elevator.

The girl had very long blond which flowed down her back. Anne felt her eyes turn green as the girl stared at them for a moment revealing her bright blue (and resentful?) eyes and she had perfect formed pink lips, she wore a little blue mock denim summer dress. The elevator binged again they door opened on the girls floor and she walked out.

"Gil, who is the girl who just got out?" asked Anne.

"Girl?" asked Gilbert, who had eyes only for his Anne, looked up from his book to Anne.

"Yes, she was standing right there, _I never saw such a beautiful face_."

" _I don't remember seeing any very beautiful girls_ who lived in the building. _There are some pretty girls up at the Glen_ frat house, _but I hardly think they could be called beautiful_."

" _This girl is. You can't have seen her, or you would remember her._ I can't believe your head was buried in the book the entire time. _Nobody could forget her. I never saw such a face except in pictures. And her hair! It made me think of Browning's `cord of gold' and `gorgeous snake'_!"

" _Probably she's some visitor_ -likely some one who's visiting her friends."

"She had keys in her hand and was playing with them."

"People leave their keys with their friends all the time Anne." The elevator binged again on their floor "Look, Anne—We're home now."

Anne shook her head as he took her by the hand and pulled her into the apartment.


	56. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 20

_I know there has been some gaps in me uploading lately, trust me if you knew me you'd know why, I've had several other projects going along with life itself! But it is not abandoned, and thank you! All new and old who comment on this! I promise I have a plan its just sitting down and finding the time to do it!_

 _love Carrots x_

* * *

The rest of the term seemed to go quickly for Anne. She was busy organising, sorting and working. She found it hard to believe that it had been two years since she left university and just how much she had accumulated, she stood amid the chaos then Davy started to walk by her room then stopped and looked.

"Are you okay Anne?" he asked her.

Anne looked up and looked at Davy "I'm fine Davy, I just can't believe I have to sort through all of this." She told him.

Davy looked to her seriously and asked "Are you really going to be moving in with Gilbert?" he asked her.

She took a deep breath and nodded "Yes Davy, I am."

He looked to the floor and asked "will you miss me?"

Anne's face flashed in concern then she beckoned him into the room. He came in the room and they sat on Anne's bed. "Of course I'll miss you." Anne confirmed.

"But you'll be living with Gilbert, will you ever come back home?" he asked her.

"Of course I will." She told him. "Gilbert has his mam and dad here and I have Marilla and you and Dora." She swallowed and said to him softly "You're like the brother I never had." She told him.

"You're the sister I never..." he slowed realising what he was saying "no, that's not what I mean..." he tried.

"I know what you mean." Anne laughed. "and you know there is a spare room in Kingsport, I'm sure I could convince Gilbert that a young boy might benefit from the experience..." Anne trailed.

"Oh boy I sure would! Gilbert won't mind he likes me!" he exclaimed. "I love the island but I haven't been off it since Marilla adopted us!"

"Nothing changes you know Davy, and we'll be back to see you at the summer and in the winter, when we can."

"Are you going to marry Gilbert?" Davy asked her. "I'd sure like you to."

Anne grinned, "Maybe, if he wants me to, one day." She smiled.

Davy nodded his head, stood up and looked around "You better get this place tidy, Marilla will go crazy if she sees it like this."

* * *

Gilbert's time wasn't going quite so fast. He felt as though it had come to a standstill on several occasions. He had taken to carrying only his tablet to class with him, he'd record the lectures take notes as he was there and continue the notes once he got back. Although they would skype with Anne, there were days on end he would feel as though, they hadn't spoken hadn't seen each other. The news that Anne would move in soon, it seemed was a double bladed sword. He was of course looking forward to the time he wouldn't have to say 'goodnight' and then be alone, he was looking forward to spending forever with her. It was in the meantime which bothered him. He barely slept as it was and then when he was in the daze between awake and asleep he'd reach over for her (obviously subconsciously dreaming she was there) to find an empty bed beside him. If he was being honest, he hadn't been this frustrated since high school! The time he had been in New York and she had been with Roy, there was a definite break, she wasn't his to have, there was no chance of it ever happening, or at least that's what he'd believed at the time. Now, she was his and most of the time he was a prisoner in his own apartment, in Kingsport, because she wasn't with him.

"Gil!" Josh exclaimed snapping his fingers in front of his friends face which snapped Gilbert out of his gaze.

"Um?" he asked.

"Class dismissed man." He whispered to him. Gilbert shook his head slightly picking up his tablet and books. "it's a good job you have the classes recording on there." Josh told him "I think you phased out about ten minutes before the end."

"Really?" Gilbert asked swallowing. "I can't say I noticed." He said quietly.

Josh chuckled for a moment at his friend "You seemed a million miles away." Before he looked at Gilbert then said "or maybe just 250." He teased his friend.

Gilbert scoffed a laugh and said "No, I'm right here, only about six months into the future." He replied. "I've _got_ to snap out of it, otherwise I'll need to repeat this year, and I _don't_ know if my scholarship would cover that somehow."

"You could daydream yourself through the next semester and still not have to repeat." Josh told him. "You'll be fine." Josh said distracted for a moment by two girls walking by, though Josh could see that both girls were checking both boys out the same couldn't be said of Gilbert. He had barely noticed the girls which was particularity surprising considering just how much they were staring. Josh shook his head at his friend and just how far gone he was on Anne. "Are you ready for your turn hosting the studying tonight?" He asked Gilbert changing the subject.

"Sure thing." Gilbert replied. "When I told my mom it was my turn to host 'next week' she sent out some extra, biscuits and cakes." Gilbert smiled at the gesture of his mother. "She used to do the same thing when Anne and I used to study together, biscuits were made cakes were baked, I can't tell you the number of times my mother forced Anne to take home food." Gilbert chuckled "I can just imagine Marilla's face," Gilbert laughed at the idea of sending more food to Green Gables, "luckily most of time there was Davy so it never went to waste." He looked to Josh and said "it's not just Anne I miss."

"You miss home." Josh observed "That's cool." He admitted "I sometimes wish I did." He said he head shaking "I couldn't wait to be out of mine." He admitted. "Well, the cooking won't go amiss with five hungry men."

"Um," Gilbert wondered then said "I doubt the gastroenterology will be productive to a hungry stomach." Gilbert chuckled which made Josh laugh.

"Prehaps not," Josh smiled. "Hey how did you do on the head and neck test?" Josh asked him.

"94." Gilbert told his friend.

Josh sighed heavily, "Man do you have to humiliate the rest of us quite so much?" he asked Gilbert "81." Josh told him.

"That's not too bad." Gilbert told Josh "You're being hard on yourself."

"Yes but I'm going to be a surgeon, I can't go in telling them I graduated second in my class." He teased Gilbert. "Especially to an internal medicine doctor." He shuddered "Come on! Josh exclaimed "come to surgery with me." He smiled.

"You sound like Christine." Gilbert said rolling his eyes.

"Ah Christine!" Josh smiled "Its a shame you weren't into her." Josh remarked, "though I do like Anne more as a person, I don't think I could have listened to Christine talk for too long." Josh assessed.

Gilbert took a deep sigh "I don't see what the fuss was about Christine anyway." Gilbert told her.

"Did she get married yet?" Josh asked Gilbert.

"No." Gilbert admitted. "I'm in touch with Andrew too, we're still very good friends, both alumna of the lambs..." he shrugged "We are still quite young to get married." Gilbert admitted.

Josh shrugged back "too true." He said as they entered their next classroom. "Anyway..." Josh teased again "try not to daydream this time."

* * *

It was nearing the end of the term for Gilbert but he would have a third term this year, lasting six weeks and most of his summer, they were expecting it and they knew it would happen, but it didn't make it any easier for them to be apart. So, Anne had taken fate into her own hands.

Anne smiled as she brought her bags up the elevator. She was determined to surprise him with this news, she had left Avonlea at five in the morning, her bags were already packed in her four by four she set off for Kingsport arriving at ten giving her plenty of time to unpack her bags and set settled in before Gilbert would come home at six. The elevator binged on the ground floor and a women with brown pixie hair and big brown eyes.

"I recognise you." She said to Anne. "But you're just moving in? Or out?" she questioned.

"In, technically," Anne replied smiling "I've been visiting my boyfriend for two years and we decided to move in together so..." she smiled around her.

"Oh, your boyfriend lives in the building, which floor?" she asked.

"Oh the Penthouse, his name is Gilbert." Anne admitted quietly.

"I always wondered what the Penthouse was like." She said. "I don't know if I've ever seen him though." She admitted.

"Well he's in med school so he keeps himself to himself and he works hard..." Anne explained.

"You're boyfriend is a doctor?!" she exclaimed.

"Soon." Anne smiled. "Hey why don't you come up with me, I'll show you around the place." She said.

"Inviting strange women up to the apartment?" She asked.

"Oh right," Anne said shaking her head and putting her hand out to shake "I'm Anne, Anne Shirley."

The women broke into a smile and took her hand "Cornelia Bryant, apartment 4a."

"See we're no longer stranger." Anne smiled. "And I like your name." She admitted.

"Oh, I don't, I longed for a nice and simple name, Jane, Mary, Anne." She said with a smile to Anne which won Anne over instantly. "I would love to come up and see the apartment and get to know you a little better." She said. The elevator opened on the fourth floor where they shut the door and Anne put her key in the elevator.

The doors opened and both Anne and Cornelia went into the apartment. "Wow!" the women exclaimed. "This is twice the size of my place!" she said "which shouldn't surprise me since you have the whole floor to yourselves." She smiled, putting the box down she saw the fireplace and a picture frame so she went over to look. "This is him isn't it?" she asked pointing to Gilbert in a picture of Anne and him, to which Anne nodded. "I recognise him now, though you two have been together a long time!" Cornelia commented.

"Not two years yet." Anne commented, when Cornelia looked confused at her then at the picture Anne admitted "we were best friends before we got together, in high school, early college, we went to everything together, we were hard to separate." Anne admitted.

"Then what took so long to get together, you look like the perfect couple!?" Cornelia asked.

Anne smiled sadly and looked at the picture, it was the same one he had in the picture frame all along, he arm around her they had posed for the picture and smiled as it was taken that particular one was taken the night the Irvings had got together. "Misunderstandings and misgivings, missed chances and missed opportunities," she said quietly then said "but all fixed now!" she tried brightly. "What about you?" Anne asked her. "Do you live with your boyfriend? Girlfriend?" She questioned.

Cornelia smiled and said "Either actually." She said with a shrug "and neither at the same time." She admitted. "which is a shame, you'd think I'd be able to get at least one!"

Anne shrugged and said "well the general population is a little slow on the uptake I'm afraid." She admitted "I only dated one other guy before I got together with Gil and that, was not a healthy relationship. Worse two years ever." Anne said shaking her head at the memory.

Cornelia looked and asked "So why weren't you with Gilbert those two years?" she asked her, "was it before you met him?"

"No, it was during in college, we um, we didn't talk for nearly two years." Anne admitted quietly. Cornelia looked amazed at her as she said quietly "as I said worse two years." She cleared her throat and asked "So, um, what do you do as a living Cornelia?"

"I'm a nanny believe it or not." She grinned.

Anne smiled widely and said "really?!" she asked. "that is awesome!" Anne exclaimed.

"Yes, a nice family but they live next door to a family with eight children." She admitted. "They never seem to care for their little ones and they are so little and sad looking..." she shrugged "so I make the dears clothes." She said to which Anne smiled and nodded. "I love the little things!" she admitted.

"You make clothes?" Anne asked her.

"My mother taught me all the old trades, knitting, crocheting needlework and dressmaking, she said it would do me good one day." She laughed as she reached for the puck.

"No don't touch that!" Anne exclaimed about the puck which made Cornelia jump. "Sorry," Anne admitted "Gil just doesn't like his hockey stuff played with."

Cornelia rolled her eyes and tutted "Just like a man."

"Oh, no Gilbert isn't." Anne defended, "its just his stuff." She said softly. "He's a sweetheart about everything and anything, well you'll see when you meet him."

"You're going to take it that far? You like me that much?" she asked Anne.

"Yeah." Anne confirmed. "Yeah I do."

Anne was still unpacking when Gilbert came into the apartment at six.

* * *

"Anne?" he questioned looking at her in amazement as she sat surrounded by books by the bookshelf.

"I was hoping to be finished by the time you got back." She told him.

"What are you doing here!" he exclaimed happily coming over to her and kissing her on the forehead before settling himself beside her.

"well, I know you have a packed term coming up, with having a summer term this year, and I didn't want to wait." She told him "of course I will if you want me to but, how about we start our forever now?" she asked him.

He looked to her amazed and asked confused "but wait, how, we need money to..." he started.

"Well I already have the money for my tuition fees, and with the course being full time but me not actually being in the university full time hours, the publishing house, which published my book offered me work on the publishing team as a commissioning editor, I have a lot of night time dos and day time work too but, it means being here, all summer with you, I already confirmed the two weeks you have off as holidays so I get to come home with you then I'm already here in September ready to start my masters." She smiled looking at his amazed face "So what do you say Gilbert Blythe, can I move in with you?" she asked him.

"Today?!" he exclaimed his smile full "Yes, please! Yes!" he said finally reaching over the books and kissing her deeply.

When they did pull back Anne said to him "I had to move some of your stuff around the bookcase." She told him quietly.

"I don't care." He said going back in for another kiss.

She chuckled when he pulled back "But I remember you complaining about Charlie..." she started.

" _You_ are _not_ Charlie!" he exclaimed kissing her again, lying her on the floor.

Anne chuckled into his mouth and blushing she muttered "Thank God for that!" she quipped.

This made Gilbert chuckle too as he pulled back he bit into his bottom lip trying to control the laughter. "He's um, not my type." Gilbert laughed as Anne burst into giggles, "Far too high maintenance."

"Oh you don't like high maintenance?" she questioned with a grin on her face.

"Like you are?!" he exclaimed, "One of our first dates were..." he blushed stopping mid sentence.

"Gil?" she asked. "What?"

"Um, nothing, we um, we weren't dating, I don't know what I was thinking." He said shaking his head.

"When?" she asked as he sat up between her legs kneeling.

He shook his head "When we were away, in Ottawa."

Anne looked up at him and gave out a short puff of air. "Oh, Love." She whispered sitting up and pulling him a little closer "Well," she shrugged "maybe it was." She said finally wrapping her arms around his middle. "Can we call it pre-dating dating?" she said to him.

He smiled kissing into her hair sweeping it back off her forehead. "Those days got me through a lot you know." He whispered. "My best friend." He said sentimentally.

"You're mine." She whispered back.

They sat there for a few moments in silence, hugged in on the floor, before he swept her up in his arms "So you were my pre-dating girlfriend?" they laughed, his bottom lips protruded he nodded and looked to her saying "sounds about right."

She giggled as he lay her on the sofa then lay on top of her, instantly his lips lightly grazed her neck which made her chest expand into him and her resolve melt away.

* * *

Gilbert rolled his eyes a bit annoyed at his phone ringing in his pocket. "hello?" he answered a bit frustrated, there was a pause where his face fell and he jumped up off Anne who was still lying under him on the sofa "No, no, I, um, I wouldn't forget Josh, I'm just running late." Gilbert said bare butt he walked around clearly confused he was looking around "no, no ten minutes." He said hanging up the phone "I completely forgot..." he told Anne, "I have a study session down at the library." He tutted still looking confused. "Where the hell did they go?!" he exclaimed.

"What?" Anne asked innocently, in a likewise state.

"My boxer shorts!" he panicked "I can't go to my study session commando!" he quipped which made Anne giggle for a moment.

"Well they came off the same time as my bra, and we threw that over..." she said pointing behind the sofa "there." She pointed at the unseen area to her.

He walked over and found his boxer shorts "Thank god for that." He muttered.

She smiled looking up at him "I'll make sure I've finished the bookcase by the time you get home." She told him.

"Hey," he said zipping up his jeans and reaching over the back of the sofa taking her face softly in his hands "take your time, make yourself..." he smiled widely just at the thought "...at _home_!" he exclaimed ecstatically. "Will you need any help unpacking?" he asked her.

"We'll see when you get back." She said practically to which he slipped his t shirt over his head then nodded his fingers playing the curls back off his face. He walked over to the lift pressing the button for it then picked up his bag. "Hey, your my live in girlfriend now aren't you meant to say something about me not going?" he asked her.

She play sighed heavily then fluttered her eyelashes at him "Oh Gil, please, don't go to your study group, stay here with me!" she fake flirted.

He laughed at how fake she was being before he said "I can't babydoll." He said with a shake of the head "If you want me to make the pretty pennies for the lifestyle you've become accustom to I have to go." He said to her.

She laughed as the elevator binged and opened. "Okay, bring me back something nice!" she exclaimed. He chuckled entering the elevator, the whole day had turned around and somehow, this had become the best day of his life... so far.

* * *

Gilbert arrived at his study session at the library just in the nick of time to start.

"Where were you?" Josh whispered to Gilbert who he could tell was fighting back a grin.

"Just at home, I told you I was running late." He whispered back.

"You late?" Josh asked him. "Come on Gil, you don't expect me to believe that."

Gilbert looked to Josh with a grin on his face.

"Oh Anne came to visit?" he asked.

"No," Gilbert told him which received a confused look "to _stay_."

Josh looked up his mouth dropped for a moment "She's moving in early?" Gilbert smiled widely and nodded. "I've never seen a man smile over loosing his bachelorhood."

"You need better friends." Gilbert told him, then the two of them looked to each other and chuckled, before they turned their attention to the studying.


	57. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 21

**Hi Everyone!**

 **So I never get the chance nowadays to say hello to everyone, to really thank you all for following for dropping reviews, it really does mean a lot to me and I don't get bored of it so if you do have the time!**

 **love Carrots x**

* * *

Two nights later Gilbert opened the door to Cornelia standing in front of him.

"You're not Anne." She observed.

"Alas no, you'd find a better person standing here if I was." He said with a smile playing at his lips.

"Who is it Gil?" they heard Anne call.

"You must be the doctor." Cornelia said to him.

"Its, Gil, or Gilbert if you prefer, I'm um not a doctor yet." He said to her standing aside letting her in the apartment.

"Anne honey I'm home!" Cornelia called to her.

"Oh Gil!" Anne remembered calling from the bedroom as she walked out she told him "I met Cornelia in the elevator the other day she lives in 4a."

He nodded in acknowledgement and asked the girl "Can I offer you a drink?" he asked her.

Cornelia looked to Anne almost ignoring Gilbert for a moment she asked her "You told him about me?"

Anne smiled at the confused Gilbert and the strong Cornelia. "No, only now." Anne admitted "I'm afraid you're getting the unfiltered Gilbert." Anne said with a smile.

"Oh bish!" she exclaimed "no way is there a _man_ as nice as that on his own!"

"They say there is always an exception to prove the rule." Anne commented "Miss Cornelia, meet exception." Anne said with a smile her hand gesturing towards Gilbert.

Cornelia looked to Gilbert suspiciously before she said "A diet cola would be nice." She admitted.

"Diet cola it is." He said heading towards the kitchen unphased by the unusual greeting of Cornelia. "Love?" he asked Anne.

"The same." Anne admitted.

"So..." Cornelia said taking a seat "That's the doctor?" she questioned.

Anne smiled. "My Gilbert, yes." She confirmed "Though he has a million tests to pass this year before he gets to practice what he knows, and then its only the end of next year he gets matched to a hospital." Anne told her.

"So what happens if he doesn't get matched here?" Cornelia asked looking rather disappointed at Anne.

"We're hoping for Kingsport, but that doesn't happen until the end of next year, but he is in the hospital, observing and learning from the best doctors" Anne admitted "but if we have to go elsewhere I can transfer my masters programme." Anne admitted.

"Typical man expecting you to drop all of your plans for him." Cornelia commented

"Its just one of the options we're considering Cornelia." Anne said in her best teacher voice "I could stay here..." which made Gilbert look over from the kitchen his heart plumping at the idea of being away from her, even after just a couple of days living with her, he knew he didn't want to be apart from her again. "Gilbert doesn't demand or expect anything from me." She said which made him smile with pride at her. He picked up the drinks and brought them over for the two girls.

"I'm going to seem awfully anti-man." She told Gilbert as he handed her the glass "There are very few men I like." She told him.

"I like that in a girl, high expectations." He said sitting next to Anne.

Anne smiled and told Cornelia "it took me a while to warm to Gilbert." Anne admitted.

Cornelia smiled at this and asked Gilbert "she made you work for it huh?"

"Makes her friendship more the precious to me, highly valued." He told her with a smile to Anne which made her smile back "and what of your friendship Cornelia?" Gilbert asked her "you said there are very few men you like, which means you like some," Gilbert asked "Am I right?" he asked.

"You are." She concurred "I like Captain Jim who lives on the first floor, say all you like about government involvement in wars you can't fault troops for following commands, he's English you know served in the military there and was involved in the first gulf war as a sixteen year old and then served in the military until 2018 he immigrated here to Canada. He's very interesting."

"He sounds it." Gilbert agreed with a small smile "I admit despite living here for two years I've not interacted much with the neighbours." He looked to Anne for a moment before he said "I shouldn't have done that." Which got him a nod from Anne.

"You didn't think of fraternizing with the neighbours yourself?" Cornelia asked him.

"I..." he thought carefully before continuing "You know without Anne I possibly would have joined the monastery. I'm not much of a one for socialising where I don't need to, though I should be friends with my neighbours, I've been a little preoccupied with medical school, I may have forgotten to even say hello."

"Even to the pretty ones." Anne said rolling her eyes then remembered her encounter with another neighbour and asked "Oh speaking of which there was this beautiful women, long blond hair blue eyes, I think she got out the elevator on floor six...?" Anne started to enquire when Cornelia's head nodded.

"You met Leslie." Cornelia nodded slightly.

"See I told you!" she said slapping Gilbert's chest playfully which got a look of confusion from Cornelia "We were in the elevator one day and he didn't even see her." Anne said with eyebrows raised.

"Hey I had my own girl right there with me and I was reading her published booked I was somewhat preoccupied." Gilbert said which got a scoffed laugh from Anne but a look of admiration from Cornelia.

"You must only have eyes for Anne if you missed her." She said. "She is gorgeous Gil."

"I'll take your word for it." Gilbert replied.

"So you know her?" Anne asked.

"Yes, I do, but Anne she's so torn and broken, she's not had it easy."

"Oh?" Anne asked.

"She was somewhat a wild child along with her brother they would go out and party, this is from middle school upwards but they were in a motorcycle accident he died and she survived, you'd think it would be enough to sober her a little but she went more wild after she lost him her parents disapproved of her boyfriend at the time, so as soon as they legally could they ran away and got married." She said with a shrug. "She knew he was a deadbeat but cared very little about he consequences at the time." She told Anne. "So, she comes back married to this guy and they move in together, and then he joins the army." Cornelia said with a shrug "but he got injured, actually he changed so completely from what he was. PTSD, he has panic attacks, he's violent and injured physically too, he can't take care of himself, she cares for him, though more out of a sense of duty, I don't believe there was any love lost or found in it."

"That's awful!" Gilbert sympathised as Anne's mouth dropped in amazement.

"But she can't be older then us!" Anne exclaimed. "That's tragical."

"She's twenty five only nine years younger then I am, I must admit I'd rather stay a bachelorette my entire life then endure what she's had to the last eleven years."

"She's _our_ age." Anne said softly to Gilbert. Both Anne and Gilbert looked sadly at each other before Cornelia snapped them out of it.

"Are you looking forward to starting your masters Anne?" she asked.

"Um, yes." She said soberly before she brighten a little "Yes, though it'll be the end of September when I start, I've been lucky enough to get flexible but steady employment for the holidays at full time and during term part time hours."

"At the publishers right?" Cornelia asked.

"Right." Anne agreed.

"You said you were reading Anne's book when you met Leslie right Gilbert?" Cornelia asked which he nodded to. "So you're an author too?!" she asked Anne.

"Oh, yes." Anne blushed. "its no big deal." She said quietly.

"No big..." she looked to Gilbert and asked him "this better not be your doing." She told him.

"He never stop telling me what an accomplishment it is." Anne told her with a smile.

"I am quite proud of her you know?" he said with his winning grin to her.

Cornelia's mouth upturned for a moment before she quickly corrected herself and said "You know Dear Doctor, I might still learn to like you."

Anne smiled the Cornelia before an idea sprung to mind "I know!" she exclaimed "a girls night!" Anne said with a smile which made Gilbert roll his eyes "Yes!" she said again "A girls night I can invite over Josie, Cornelia?" she asked to which she got a nod " and maybe you can ask Leslie too?" Anne asked Cornelia.

"I can only ask." She said "but don't get your heart set on it Anne."

"I won't, but it'll be nice to get to know her." Anne admitted.

* * *

"It's a pleasure to meet you Captain Jim." Gilbert said with a smile to him as they all sat down in Captain Jim's apartment a few days later, Cornelia had promised to introduce them which she had arranged just a few days later. "Miss Cornelia has nothing but high praise for you."

Captain Jim looked over at Cornelia with a nod "Ah so you do _love_ me after all?" he questioned.

"Me? I would never _love_ a man!" she exclaimed. "You surely know me better then that Captain Jim."

He shook his head turning his attention to the new couple in front of him "So, what do you two do to keep out of trouble?" he asked them.

"Gilbert and Anne are going to be one of those high power couples." Cornelia said with a smile.

"Oh?" he asked them.

"High powered?" Gilbert asked with a chuckle to Cornelia.

"Well you are." Cornelia smiled. "Gilbert is at medical school and Anne is working part time at the publishing house in town, is starting a masters degree at university _and_ has her own book published."

"You're an author Miss Shirley?" he asked her interested.

"Yes, I am, there's only the one book..." she said humbly.

"So far.." Gilbert added.

"You want to publish more?" he asked her.

"Oh yes very much so." She admitted.

"You should write down some of my stories." He said to her with a smile.

"Oh, I'm really not that type of author," she said shaking her head "I'm sure I couldn't do them justice." She admitted.

"And you a medical man?" he said to Gilbert.

"Yes, I am." Gilbert acknowledged.

"Hard work?" he asked.

"Oh yes sir, very hard work." Gilbert replied.

"And yours too Miss Shirley?" He asked Anne.

"Yes, it is." She agreed "not that we're complaining." She said with a look to Gilbert and he shook his head lightly.

"Indeed not." Captain Jim agreed "hard work is good for the soul."

"Talking about hard work..." Gilbert started "yours makes ours fade into insignificance." He said to the Captain. "We'd be interested in hearing more." He said.

"Well..." the captain said with a smile "if you insist..."

* * *

"Josie!" Anne exclaimed seeing her old friend before her, the two dressed somewhat akin, but it was a themed party, Anne had decided to rent 'Fame' so it was eighties wear all the way. "You look amazing!" Anne exclaimed looking to her friend. Josie was wearing bright neon teal leggings with pink leg warmers and white trainers she wore a black leotard with a loose pink crop top over the top of it her now bobbed hair sported a high half up and half down look held up with a scrunchy. Her lips sported bright pink lipstick with bright blue eyeliner, mascara and eye shadow.

"You too!" Josie exclaimed "I bet Gil loves that look on you Anne!" she said by way of return of compliment. Anne's red hair was big and red, backcombed to look bigger with her hair plaited overnight the braids had come out to frizz, she wore a it up to one side with a big bow in it. She wore a black leggings with a short neon pink rara skirt which sported a leopard print. She wore an off shoulder black t shirt which sported a neon print across it, she wore some black finger-less gloves and a ton of bracelets. Her makeup done like Josie's the very pink lipstick and blue around the eyes.

"Thanks!" Anne said with a smile to her as she came in the two girls hugging briefly. "Gilbert as ever was biased." She shrugged.

"Is he hibernating?" Josie asked her.

"No," Anne admitted "he went to the library for a study session and said he'll stay down there for the quiet." Anne smiled.

"So!" Josie exclaimed coming in and sitting on the sofa "are you looking forward to starting your masters?" she asked

"I am!" Anne confirmed "its an exciting prospect, new people, new things to learn new perspectives..."

"And new apartment, new living conditions..." Josie trailed. "What's he like to live with?" she asked.

"Gilbert?" Anne asked and sighed sitting down "Oh you know..." she shrugged.

"I don't, well only what Charlie has said but I imagine he would be different to a girlfriend to what he's like to an imposing friend." Josie smiled which made Anne laugh.

"Yes quite, but I don't mess with his stuff." Anne admitted. "Not that he's precious with me about... anything actually." She said her eyebrows knotting.

"well love makes you do crazy things," Josie analysed with a grin to Anne which made Anne smile back.

"So, how's Charlie?" Anne asked in a sing song tone.

"Did you take the Sloane out of him?" Josie asked Anne.

"Me?" Anne asked her, "I did nothing!" which made them both laugh as there was another knock at the door. "It must be Cornelia and Leslie." Anne said to her crossing the room.

She opened the door and saw Cornelia there her hair in a yuppy hairstyle, short and almost spiked up her jeans denim along with her jacket. Anne smiled looking at her new friend as she said "Anne you look fantastic!" she exclaimed.

"Look at you!" Anne said with a chuckle. "Nothing says 80s like denim on denim." Anne said to her.

"Exactly my thought!" Cornelia replied. She looked behind her to Leslie who was standing back silently her features although beautiful were hardend. "Now we had fun doing Leslie's hair this afternoon." Cornelia said, the girl behind her stepped forward, her hair was curled at the bottom, still long and beautiful. "I hope you don't mind Anne, I borrowed Leslie the leather jacket." She said. "but of course you two haven't formally met yet," she said. "Anne this is Leslie, Leslie this is Anne." She introduced.

"Hello Leslie." Anne said with a smile. "I love your hair, I noticed it when we met in the elevator, I've never seen hair as blonde before, is it naturally that colour?" Anne asked.

"Yes." She said almost shortly however Cornelia interjected

"Ah! Another new face!?" she said looking towards Josie.

"Yes, this is a friend from High school," Anne admitted, "Josie this is Cornelia and Leslie." Anne introduced closing the door behind them all.

Josie stood up and smiled kindly "Pleasure to meet you both."

"I'll cut to the chase..." Cornelia said "what do you do Miss Josie?" she asked her.

"Oh, I'm on the masters programme to be a physiotherapist." Josie told her. Leslie looked down looking annoyed while Cornelia tried to cover,

"Are all your friends so ambitious?" she asked Anne.

Anne smiled "well we had a principle in high school who encouraged us never to settle." Anne admitted "I think it caught on."

"Even in the worse of us." Josie said with a smile to Anne.

"No!" Anne exclaimed to her "No you weren't!"

"Oh but I was!" Josie admitted "in high school this is, I was just horrible, I took gym our junior year because it meant I only had to take another two classes that semester." She admitted.

Leslie's lips upturned and she admitted "me too." She said quietly, "but I hated high school." She told them.

"Well maybe you would have done better at drama school!" Cornelia said with a smile "like in Fame." She said nodding towards Anne.

"Have you ever seen it before?" Anne asked Leslie.

"No." She admitted.

"Well, not time like the present." Josie smiled.

"Be prepared for girly screams and sing alongs." Anne told Leslie.

* * *

They did indeed watch the film all the girls joined in singing and dancing at the end even Leslie was joining in tentively. Once finished they had started to watch back to the future when Gilbert came in heading into the kitchen he smiled at the girls as he walked past the living area "Ignore me girls." He said with a smile "but can I say you are all looking fine!" he exclaimed with a smile on his face. "I'll just get a tea and head into the bedroom." He said to them all.

"We're not scaring you away are we Gilbert?" Josie asked him.

Gilbert smiled switching on the coffee maker and said "the days of you scaring me away Miss Pye are well and truly over."

"Awww!" Josie exclaimed "I never scared you!" she proclaimed "did I?"

"You're flirting almost scared Anne away." Gilbert said with a grin at the two.

"Hey for all I knew you were asking for the flirting!" Anne exclaimed to Gilbert.

"Did you two date?" Cornelia asked them, to which Josie laughed,

"No, I only wished, I tried everything I could to get him to date me." Josie admitted "Sorry." She shrugged to Anne.

Anne jumped up and headed into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around him "My poor sweet man!" Anne said to him, to which he smiled and looked down into her eyes.

"But he only had eyes for you Anne?" Cornelia asked.

Gilbert blushed slightly then looked at Anne again kissing her forehead.

"So dear Doctor, how does your beloved look?" she teased him.

"A total babe!" he said as he received a hug from Anne.

"I better go." Leslie said suddenly jumping up.

"Oh." Anne said confused, she had thought it was going rather well, Leslie had started to relax and talk, join in with the rest of the group.

"Richard has been alone an awful long time." She said not looking directly at Anne she headed towards the door and said as an after thought without looking at anyone "thank you for this evening." Leslie said then without so much as a 'goodbye' she opened the door and left.

Josie looked confused towards Cornelia and Anne looked up towards Gilbert.

* * *

"I don't think it's anything you've done Anne." Gilbert reasoned later once Cornelia and Josie had left and they were readying for bed. "You tried to include her."

"But she was enjoying herself, I don't understand." Anne said huffing climbing into bed side him.

"Anne." Gilbert said firmly but softly to her "Why do you need her to like you?" he asked her.

"There's no reason why she shouldn't like me." Anne huffed.

"But you can't make her like you." He told her.

"What do you know?" Anne huffed.

Gilbert's lips upturned to a twisted smile "What do I know of trying to make someone I like, like me when they seemly hate me?" he asked her putting his arm around her looking at her.

"Yes." She said still huffed.

"When someone could be a kindred to me but refuses to see it because of their preconceptions about me?" he tried again, to which she looked up and chuckled shaking her head.

"I forgot about that." She whispered to him hugging into his chest as they snuggled down into the bed. "How did you get me to like you?" she asked him.

He chuckled and said "I wooed you with my charm." he said with a chuckle which she joined in with. "You just need to be patient, if she's meant to be your friend she will be."

Anne sighed and said "Cornelia said she thought it was because we were so happy." Anne confided in him.

"You mean she's jealous?" Gilbert asked.

"Not jealously exactly, more our happiness is a reminder to her how miserable she is, that everything she has had, has a price, Captain Jim was with us and he said we have it easy and Leslie might just resent it." Anne took a heavy sigh "if they knew us they'd know we don't have it easy that our love came with a price and it was heavy."

Gilbert stayed silent for a moment before he said quietly "Are you really ready to share everything with these people Anne?" he asked her "Not even Josie nay even Diana knows everything." He added quietly.

There was a silence again before she said quietly "No." She replied sadly "I just wish Leslie could see we would make good friends, I can feel she's a kindred, and different sadness's can help other sadness's heal," she confided in him.

"We're living proof of that." He whispered to her kissing into her hair. "Give her time Anne, she'll see the friend you are."

Anne sighed again and whispered "Her hair fascinates me. I always thought Ruby had beautiful hair—but Leslie's is ALIVE—every thread of it is living gold."

"She is very pretty," agreed Gilbert, Anne heard a dreamy tint to his voice that Anne almost wished he were a LITTLE less enthusiastic.

She play shoved him for a second "no need to sound so dreamy about it!" she huffed.

"I wasn't!" he said still tired but confused "I sound dreamy because I'm sleepy!" he exclaimed. Settling back into her.

"Oh." Anne sounded, she was silent for a moment before she asked "Gilbert?"

"Hm?" he replied sleepily.

 _"Would you like my hair better if it were like Leslie's?" she asked wistfully._

Gilbert turned towards her gently cradling her head in his arms his fingers threading through her hair _"I wouldn't have your hair any colour but just what it is for the world," said Gilbert, with one or two convincing accompaniments._ (Authors note: That's Montgomery's words not mine! If that isn't filled with implication I don't know what is!) His lips locked with hers his free hand first stroking her cheek but then travelled down her neck to her chest with a quick squeeze of her breast it continued to travel southwards grazing her stomach as it passed.

 _"You wouldn't be ANNE if you had golden hair—or hair of any color but"—_

 _"Red," said Anne, with gloomy satisfaction._

 _"Yes, red—"_ his lips upturning to a smile " _to give warmth to that milk-white skin"_ he said kissing into her shoulder _"and those shining gray-green eyes of yours."_ He said with a sigh. _"Golden hair wouldn't suit you at all Queen Anne—"_ he whispered "Even golden hair even alive hair like Leslie's is not alive and alight like yours, to match your personality. _"_ He sighed again and whispered "I've told you before what your red hair does to me." He said with a smile on his face which made Anne chuckle _"MY Queen Anne—queen of my heart and life and_ my _home."_

Anne blushed sweetly her eyes locking with Gilbert's "Talk like that Gilbert Blythe you can admire any girls hair as you like." She told him.

"I think a man, or a women can admire all they like, we don't go blind because we're in love, but personally, if you were to find another man attractive, once I get over my own jealousy..." he admitted "I'd think to myself, even though that person is attractive to you, you still picked me." He said with a smile on his face as he kissed her gently.

"Do you think Leslie is beautiful?" she asked him.

"I think Leslie is pretty, I don't think there's any denying that." He said to her "but beautiful?" he questioned his bottom lip protruding. "No, not for me. Probably why I didn't see her in the elevator that day." He told her then looked into her eyes. "You are."

Anne's face broke into a smile which was unmistakable to Gilbert, she was satisfied she was secure and she felt loved as they chose to express their love there and then.


	58. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 22

**Hi everyone!**

 **Thank you so much for your reviews they do mean so much!**

 **One of the things I really looked forward to doing when I knew I was going onto Anne and Gilbert being together sort of time in my modern day tale was bringing some of the characters which are normally ignored into the 21st century. Its part of the reason I had Roy in but as well, Leslie, Miss Cornelia, Davy and Dora (Although they aren't in a lot in this telling they are there and I find that true to the books anyway!) but as well, some of the characters we meet here! Because we don't have Anne in the ladies college in my modern day, well I've had to mix and match the characters across the later stories but I've done my best to keep them true to their own characters. And I like this chapter because we introduce two more!**

 **The upload today is because if I didn't upload today right now, it wouldn't get done! I have a busy few days coming up!**

 **love**

 **Carrots x**

* * *

Katherine Brooke sat in the desk she thought would be best. She was relatively near the front, she organised her pen, and papers in front of her, and took out her book to read her newly purchased book which was recommended in the university bookstore "Avonlea Vignettes" by Anne Shirley. She hadn't looked at the about the author section but had started it immediately, imagining her to be an older lady then herself (being almost 30) maybe a PHD in literature, Katherine smiled, she wanted to be published one day and hoped reading new authors would be insightful as to how get published. The book lay flat in front of her, her head down reading it.

She jumped in her seat as a redhead girl came into the room, the girls book clattering on the floor as she entered her feet apparently had tripped over the slight lip in the floor as she entered, but didn't half create a clattered. Katherine frowned at the girl, she barely looked old enough to be out of high school never mind on a masters program, no wonder she was so clumsily, probably some airhead thinking she knew everything.

"Sorry." The girl blushed at the other silent girl, the girl found a seat and with another clatter sat down. Katherine sighed heavily rolling her eyes at the interruption her head going back down into her book, within seconds the rest of the class started piling in and finally the Professor.

"Greetings everyone." The professor started "for those of you who don't know me I'm Professor Cooper," he said to his class "and this is Module 562: Creative Writing." He said as he walked around the room handing out papers "If you are in the wrong classroom leave now, if not then you will be graded from now on, your attendance, your attitude, your participation and of course your exam results." He said with a grin. "Although I think we already have one person at least who doesn't need to take this course." He said stopping at the redhead girls desk smiling at her.

Katherine was confused, 'how can she hold favour so well with a professor already?' she wondered before she thought cynically 'she's probably sleeping with him.'

"You can always learn more professor, inspiration comes from the most unlikely of places at times." The red head replied.

Katherine's heart dropped. 'she's right' she thought bitterly 'does she have to be right as well as well liked?' she wondered.

"Class, this is young lady..." the professor said making her stand "is an example to you all, recently published author..." he said with a smile which made Katherine's already disappointed heart turn bitter "Miss Anne Shirley." Katherine's eyes squinted at the girl hatefully, then at the book she had just purchased. She opened it to the last page to the about the author flap and there she was, it was her alright. She looked back at the author who had turned a shade of pink as the professor had continued t compliment her. Katherine looked again down at the book, _Anne Shirley, 24,_ it read.

'Twenty four!' Katherine thought her heart racing with her inside storm. Angrily she swiped the book back into her bag, her arms crossed in front of her, she had a feeling she would hate this lecture.

* * *

Forty five minutes later Katherine swiped up her bag and left the room stormily. So angry was she that she bumped straight into a man. The contents of her bag scattering across the floor.

"Oh excuse me." He said to her politely going immediately to the floor with her to help her retrieve the contents of her bag. "I didn't see you." He told her.

She looked up to see a rather handsome man in front of her. He was over six foot in height, with a strong jawline, perfect chin and high cheekbones. She looked into his hazel eyes which told her he was genuine in his actions and words "no, it's okay." She said quietly "I wasn't looking where I was going." She admitted watching as a lock of his brown curly hair flopped onto his forehead, clearly used to it he swept it back.

"You have creative writing." He observed, "its a tough class, Professor Cooper doesn't make it easy."

"Oh you take creative writing?" she asked him.

"Well I took a module in my undergraduate days," he said with a grin which lit his face "first year actually, good times." He added, "though don't believe he made it easy on us just because we were freshman."

"I can well believe it." Katherine admitted.

He picked up Anne's book in his hands they stood up slowly with the same smile on his face "You have good taste." He remarked.

"What?" she questioned, to which they were interrupted by Anne herself.

"Hey." Anne smiled at him "Gil." They kissed briefly before Anne looked to Katherine. "Hey you were just in my class right?" she asked her, "I'm Anne."

Katherine's tried to stop her face from screwing as the scene in front of her unfolded. 'Typical' she thought, 'the tall dark handsome stranger had to be _her_ boyfriend.' She knew she was being spiteful, but she didn't care, this Anne, seemed to have it all, 'is there a more loathsome person in the world to have all she ever desired?'

"I was just telling her she had excellent taste," Gilbert told Anne, as he handed Katherine back Anne's book "The same class as you and your book." Gilbert said with a smile.

"Its overrated." Anne said. "Sorry I didn't catch your name?" she questioned Katherine.

"Katherine." She said quietly.

Anne looked to the girl's folder and smiled "I like that you spell Katherine with a K." She said breezily. "I always thought Anne with a 'C' looked so smug." Anne told her.

"I knew C's we smug." Another voice interjected. This time it belonged to another male, a man with dark brown hair and dark grey eyes. As Gilbert saw him he reminded him of Royal Gardner, As Anne saw him she smiled lightly. "You must be Anne." The lad said, "another author in the midst of the class."

"Oh you've been published?" Anne asked him.

"I have." He admitted, "Sorry, this is no introduction. My name is Owen, Owen Ford." His arm going out for a handshake he started with Anne then moved to Gilbert who introduced himself then he turned to Katherine who likewise shook his hand. "So are we are literacy geeks here?" he asked.

"All but me." Gilbert admitted.

"He's at medical school, he's going to be a doctor." Anne gushed which made Katherine's eyes roll internally.

"A Doctor?" Owen asked "No kidding!"

"Speaking of which you're here?" Anne questioned him.

"I am, I'm meant to be in a study session for the next two hours with my study group but I took the test early and aced it so I thought I might come and see how your first lecture back was like." Gilbert smiled at her.

Owen smiled and said "Now that's romantic." Owen remarked. "Not unlike..." he trialed.

"Contemporary or classical?" Anne asked.

"Oh need you even ask?" Owen asked.

"Well I must admit a good Jane Austen has a bigger pull on me then a 50 Shades of Grey." Anne said with a smile.

"Have you read 50 shades of Grey?" Gilbert asked her with a chuckle.

"No!" Anne laughed rolling her eyes.

"Yeah," Owen smiled "I mean what is it with modern literature and having to make everything seem dirty." He said with a smile to her.

"I know." Anne said with a grin.

"But then they say sex sells." Gilbert added.

"Prostitution always has." Owen grinned.

"A guilty conscious Mr Ford?" Anne teased.

At this Katherine cut in "Excuse me." She said as she turned on her heel and left.

Unknown to her she left three bewildered people behind her.

* * *

"You know for a medical man you aren't half good at your literature." Owen said sitting back on their sofa.

"Well I'm a scholar more then anything else, people think because I want to be a doctor my only interest is in the sciences." Gilbert remarked as his arm went around Anne as they sat on the cuddle chair over from Owen.

"So your interests are? Literature..."

"Science, Hockey, the others slip while I'm at school." He admitted.

"And you obviously keep in shape." Owen remarked.

"I go running on a morning, most mornings and I love swimming, but that's about it now." Gilbert admitted.

"Oh is that all." Owen said sarcastically with a grin on his face.

With that there was a knock on the door. Anne looked around to it confused and she asked Gilbert "are you expecting someone?" she asked him, to which he shook his head as she crossed the floor opening the door. "Leslie!" she exclaimed surprised.

"I um, I just came to return your book." Leslie told her.

"Oh you finished already?" Anne asked. "Come in." She told her. "I'll get you another." Anne told her.

When Owen's eyes fell upon Leslie he leaped to his feet, his jaw dropped and his eyes widened. Gilbert looked first to Owen and then over to Leslie who had realised the attention she was drawing her cheeks flushed her head down biting her lip her hair partly hiding her face. He looked back to Owen who smiled shyly. Under any other circumstances he would be happy to see two people so instantly attracted to each other.

"Owen this is our friend Leslie Moore." Gilbert introduced them, "she lives in the building..." he said carefully watching as Owen crossed the room his hand out to meet her she took his hand and Gilbert's heart dropped as he could practically see the sparks. "...with her husband." He added regretfully.

"H-husband?" Owen asked.

Leslie swallowed and admitted quietly a yes.

"Now I know you're not into romantic novels, but I really think this one isn't really romantic." Anne said coming into the room completely unaware of the tension Owen's hand pulling back suddenly from Leslie's hand. Anne held the book in her hand then looked at Leslie then at Owen, then at Gilbert in confusion.

Leslie's eyes looked to Anne then to Owen then at Gilbert before she muttered something about not wanting the book after all, a mix of hurt and sadness on her face turning and leaving the door slamming behind her.

 _"Who_ was _that beautiful creature?"_ Owen _asked._

"That's Leslie," said Anne. "I can't believe you didn't introduce them Gil." She said looking at Gilbert confused.

"I did." Gilbert told her, "I introduced Owen to _Mrs_ Moore." Gilbert retorted giving a sharp look to Owen then at the door, Anne was confused only for a moment before she realised what Gilbert was getting at.

"Oh." Anne said swallowing. _"She is very lovely, isn't she?"_ Anne said sympathically to Owen.

 _"I—I never saw anything like her," he answered, rather dazedly. "I wasn't prepared—I didn't expect—good heavens, one DOESN'T expect a goddess_ to just walk in the door! _Why, if she were clothed in a gown of sea-purple, with a rope of amethysts in her hair, she would be a veritable sea-queen!"_

Anne look at Gilbert with an equally sad expression to Gilbert's earlier she turned to Owen and told him "You did hear the 'Mrs' part didn't you?" Anne asked him, where Owen blushed sadly.

Gilbert looked to Owen and swallowed the lump in his throat "Come now we were mocking my extensive hobbies list," Gilbert remembered "come," he said pointing towards the chair "we'll have a drink and I'll tell you the many talents of Anne Shirley." He said lightly as Owen returned to the sofa.

"Tea anyone?" Anne questioned them to which they both gave a nod.

* * *

"Oh Boy Gil!" Davy exclaimed upon the doors opening to the apartment. "This is your place?!" he exclaimed "no wonder you never want to come home!" he exclaimed.

"Davy!" Gilbert said with a smile "One day you'll learn home is where the heart is." Gilbert told him trying to sound wise.

"But I thought you're heart was always with Anne." He said with a grin to her which made Anne smile.

"Well it is..." Gilbert started.

"He's got you in a snare now...!" Anne said with a chuckle.

"And Anne is here?" Davy said smartly.

"well yes..." Gilbert continued "but..."

"So home is here." Davy finished.

Gilbert looked at the lad now sixteen "when did you get so wise?" he asked Davy.

"I'm almost as old as you were when we first came to Avonlea." He said to Gilbert "Didn't you grow at all from eleven to sixteen?" he teased Gilbert, which made Anne snort in amusement, Gilbert opened the spare room door and motioned him in

"Get settled in." Gilbert instructed him.

Davy walked past Gilbert and turned in a whisper to him as if he didn't want Anne to hear but completely missed the mark "say Gil, you and Anne won't be having sex while I'm here will you?" he asked seriously "The walls are a little thin."

Gilbert rolled his eyes at the lad "the walls are fine Davy." He sad closing the door his eyes amused. "Lets have Davy over you said, it'll be fun you said." He said with a grin to Anne.

Anne giggled with him before she said "You know lads that age, sex is everything and nothing at all."

Gilbert rolled his eyes as they sat on the sofa together "forgive me Anne but I was never such a boy it would have meant the world to me, it would have meant you." He said with a grin to her.

"You didn't know me yet." Anne said softly putting her arms around him.

He grinned and whispered to her "would make it even more special." He whispered "A glance at my future." He said his lips playing a smile more "Grey eyes, red hair, super smart, sweet and kind, my soulmate." He whispered to her.

"You wouldn't have known it." She scoffed.

"Sure I would." He said with a grin "I knew at 'Carrots'." He told her softly which made them both giggle.

Anne finally came up her cheeks flushed crimson she played with his hair lightly before she said practically "As Marilla would say 'stuff and nonsense'." She said with a giggle. "We have not be all lovey in front of Davy." Anne said with a whisper to him "I heard he's having a hard time with Millie."

Gilbert mouthed a 'o' before he asked "to do with...?" Gilbert trailed.

"He's ready for sex she isn't." Anne whispered. "He's not forcing or anything just frustrated."

His lips played another grin before he said "Well, I do know something of that." He said leaning back into the sofa his arm around her his eyes closed. "He's barely sixteen," Gilbert said with a grin "wait another year or so." He whispered

"So!" Davy said by way of announcing himself opening the bedroom door "What are we going to do tonight?" he asked Gilbert.

"I thought..." Gilbert said to him standing up "You and I could go down to the football stadium, its twice the size of the one we played in high school, as an ex captain I know all the old tricks."

He looked to Gilbert then to Anne "Just us?" he asked Gilbert.

"Yeah bud," Gilbert said with a smile "like old times." He said.

"You don't mind Anne?" he asked.

"Not I." Anne admitted. "I have a half page speech I need to learn for my modern drama class on Monday, this might be my last chance to memorise it." Anne admitted.

Davy grinned at Gilbert in affirmation.

* * *

"How's my team?" Gilbert asked Davy about his old high school football team, "still the best in the county?" he asked.

They were art the stadium, now empty and walking around the edge of the field, it was empty and big.

"It is now I'm on the team." Davy said with a smile "and Anne helped me get my grades up, Coach Rennie is a real stickler for grades." He said with a huff.

"Coach Rennie knows that you need a fall back if your plans fail, and he appreciates that if someone is willing to work hard in something they don't like, then they'll continue to work hard at what they like." Gilbert said with a grin.

Davy rolled his eyes then his forehead wrinkled in thought "Did you always want to be a doctor Gil?"

Gilbert played a smile for a few moments before he talked "I didn't think about what I wanted when I was younger, my friends assumed because I was good at football all the way through school that I would go into football, my parents I suppose assumed I would want the farm." He said with a shrug "we never really talked about it." He acknowledged, "then my dad got sick and we were in hospital a lot of the time, I was still quite young, I was only thirteen." He remembered "I was around doctors all the time, I listened I picked up on things, I got interested." He said with a shrug "I guess that's where it came from."

"Did you want to help your dad?" Davy questioned.

His bottom lip protruded and he acknowledged "I probably did yeah." Gilbert said "Though I know I hadn't really made up my mind until I went back to school." He said.

"Until you met Anne?" Davy asked.

"Yeah, until I met Anne." Gilbert said.

They were silent for a moment before Davy added "Millie makes me want to do better." Davy confided in him.

"Yeah?" Gilbert said with a grin.

"Yeah." Davy confirmed. "Like I want to show off to her."

Gilbert grinned and he said "Yep, they have that effect."

Davy smiled "You wanted to show off to Anne?" he asked.

"Hell yeah!" Gilbert said with a chuckle "though she did _not_ make it easy, she kept on keeping up with me!"

Davy laughed "Well Anne's smart that way." He said then he paused , He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something then closed it. Gilbert waited for him to say something. "Say Gil, did you and Anne wait?" he asked.

"Wait?" Gilbert asked with a grin.

"For you know..." he said blushing slightly. "I mean you couldn't of right? You were both out of college."

"You mean sex?" Gilbert said with his grin growing.

"Aww Gilbert!" Davy said with a shove to him "don't mock me!" he exclaimed.

"Sorry, sorry." Gilbert said quickly "alright no mocking now, I'll be serious." He told the lad. Gilbert took a deep breath and said "we waited."

"Really?!" Davy exclaimed surprised.

"Really." Gilbert said with a grin "it was relatively speaking, a short amount of time to wait." He said plainly. "Though it must be strange to everyone else I suppose, we were close before we got together we were friends a long time," he said "but we needed the time."

"But why? You were close anyway!?" he asked.

"Closeness, and intimacy is two separate things." Gilbert said to him "and some people, men and women, they need the time before to really be ready for the kind of intimacy needed with sex." Gilbert admitted.

"Is it different?" he asked Gilbert.

"Yeah." Gilbert admitted "and please Davy, please be careful," he said "I know you aren't the type to force, but you can't be seen to pressurise her either, it needs to be her choice in her time, as well as your own." He said to him.

"But how do I know its the right time?" he asked.

Gilbert chuckled "you're asking the wrong man for that." He scoffed, "but, I think the best way, is to tell her to let you know when she's ready." Gilbert advised "remember, you're still both young, just because something is legal it doesn't necessarily make it right."

They were silent for a few seconds before Davy asked quietly "Is it good?"

Gilbert chuckled, 'yep' he thought to himself 'just what they want to know.' "I'll leave that for you to find out."

* * *

"He knows the basic stuff Anne, and he's not forcing himself on the girl, he'll be fine." Gilbert finished his narration to Anne that night. They had got back very late from their boys night out, however late it was Davy was in the living room watching something on Netflix and Anne and Gilbert had retired to the bedroom Gilbert already tucked into bed Anne was getting ready for bed herself.

"Well I'm glad of course." Anne said with a chuckle "Sorry, it seems you had a 'mans' job to do, but I really think he listens to you."

"It's alright I suppose." He said with a shrug. "Though I always supposed I would be telling my own son rather then..." he said with a smile his hand playing with his neck for a moment "what I mean is..." he tried.

"That when you had the talk with your dad, that you thought 'I could do better then this' and thought about how you'd present it to your son?" Anne asked.

"Well..." Gilbert said with a shrug. "Actually most of it was my mom." He said.

"Your mom?" Anne asked surprised.

"Well, yeah." Gilbert recalled, "well there was stuff you know dad told me about you know physical reactions." He said with a playful eyebrow "but emotional stuff, it was all mom." He admitted.

"Yes, you said before your mom told you about intimacy stuff." Anne remembered.

"It was quite soon after that, they both approached me, I mean we'd gone over the difference between sex and rape and love and everything, just we talked about ..." he said "then of course there was 'the talk' at school."

"Well he's sixteen, he must have picked up something!" Anne exclaimed "Which is just the thing, I mean school doesn't really cover it really, I mean they claim to but..."

"Yeah, tis not something taught properly in a gym hall, PE teacher and a pack of condoms." Gilbert said with a grin as Anne slipped in the bed beside him.

"So hum, you didn't tell Davy what sex was like?" she asked.

"I don't; think I could do it justice," he said with a flirty grin to her, "plus you know not everyone has our chemistry to go off." He said looking into her eyes adoringly.

She looked back into his eyes for a moment before she leaned over and kissed him gently, then again a little harder and then a bit more as they lay back in the bed.

"I thought we said not while Davy was here?" Gilbert whispered to her.

"What Davy doesn't know won't hurt him." She replied.


	59. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 23

**Hi folks!**

 **That time again! Well almost! It's somehow back to a Tuesday evening. But again, if it doesn't happen now its not going to, and there maybe some radio silence soon, so much to do! I'm a mum afterall and its nearing the end of term and then, then its the six weeks holidays! Six weeks! Of a seven and a to year old! I will update where I can and thank you all, thank you for your reviews your follows, I am so grateful for them all!**

 **So here I'm going into some serious issues again.**

 **So i talked about sexual abuse earlier and here is some on physical mental... well abuse. Again I want to emphasise abuse is never okay, its never okay and if you are in an abusive relationship, please please get out! There is help there is a way out and away from your partner and please take your babies with you away from the abusive partner (again, I'm not putting a gender on this both sexes can be abusive!) Its not you, its never your fault! Please!**

 **There are National abuse hotlines in every country and countless websites, so please!**

 **Again, I mean I can imagine trying to react to this sort of problem, and all the advice I can find tells you not to push them into telling you something is wrong, I'm trying to get it right and its hard! So Apologises, and I hope I've written it okay.**

 **love Carrots.**

* * *

"I don't understand it!" Katherine exclaimed coming out of the lecture theatre complaining to another one of the students. "Why does she have to win at everything she does"

"Katherine, come on," The girl said. "Her argument was sound."

"Her argument was invalid!" Katherine continued "There is no God! No judgement other then the world around us"

"Shhh!" The girl shushed Katherine as Anne and Owen walked past.

Anne looked momentarily hurt but said nothing and with a swallow said quietly "congratulations on your debate skills Miss Brooke." Anne said to her with a worried look from Owen.

"Congratulations?" She questioned "We lost."

"You didn't make it easy to win." Anne blushed a pink colour in response.

"A worthy winner." The girl with Katherine said. "I must know Anne, do you actually believe the argument you gave?" she asked.

"I do believe that sometimes liberal for one is not for another, I do believe that God knows the intentions of our heart."

"So you believe in God?" the girl asked.

"I believe..." she said with a sigh and a thoughtful look on her face "In something greater." she said with a shrug. "And anyway imagine if we went through this life believing there's a God and then there was nothing after death as people claimed, we'd never know would we, it wouldn't matter, what would matter is that we lived in the dictates of what we believed to be right, but what about if we went through life not believing and then die and realise, actually there is, and all the evidences for a belief was right in front of our faces but we were just too proud to admit there might be a greater power then us and then... there he is." she said dreamily.

"The burqa is just another sign of oppression!" Katherine argued still worked up.

"The burqa is an outward expression of an inward covenant." Anne said calmly.

"Oh please!" Katherine said "Its oppressive!" she argued. "You call yourself a feminist but defend a women to be a prisoner behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity."

"To us it is!" Anne exclaimed. "To her its her freedom, her ability to show her God that he comes first, its her right."

"And what about national security?" Katherine stated.

"It should be respectfully asked to be removed stating its for security, even if in a spot check. If the women is not comfortable with showing her face to a man then she should be asked to remove it for a female officer in a side room if needs be, once identified they should be allowed to wear it again, but as far as I know no women has performed an act of terrorism wearing a burqa."

"But it has been used by a man to do so." Katherine pointed out

"Then perhaps we should ban if from being worn incorrectly then. Afterall it wasn't a women doing it, it was men dressed as a women," and with a smile to Owen trying to defuse the situation Anne said "Lord knows what their God will think of cross dressing!"

"There's no way of telling that day to day!" Katherine jumped back on the debate."

Anne looked to her confused as she stormed off, the girl with her apologising to Anne before going after Katherine.

"Ignore her." Owen whispered to her. "She's taking a debate personally." He said quietly.

"She takes all that I do personally." Anne muttered dramatically, before Owen nudged her with a grin on his face which made Anne chuckle.

"Oh Owen!" she exclaimed with a laughed "I'm being serious she doesn't like me."

"Envy is not her colour." Owen replied. "You know she's jealous of your accomplishments, you're young, you're published, you're in a stable and strong relationship with a man who, might I add is a gentlemen and rather good looking."

Anne smiled and nudged him back "You're not too bad yourself." She told him.

"But I'm not your type." He said.

Anne shrugged "I don't really have a type, I have a Gilbert." She said with a grin. "But why is she not jealous of you, you're published."

"Because I'm not her competition." He said frankly "Its sexist in a way but I am a man of her age, and she could probably justify that men have advantage in life so that's why I'm published." He told her "So, you're younger, you're well liked, you're published." He said with a shrug.

"That's ridiculous," Anne tutted "she should read some of the trash I did back in high school for our literature club, they were woefully underdeveloped and over romanticized."

Owen laughed, "I think I might like to read some." He admitted.

Anne looked at him and rolled her eyes "I think pigs will fly first."

* * *

"You like having people around don't you?" Cornelia asked Anne.

Anne had invited over her university friends, Cornelia, Captain Jim on Cornelia's recommendation and Leslie, it was a Saturday night before Halloween, Anne and Gilbert were sitting with Captain Jim listening to his stories, of which she was enjoying immensely.

Anne looked up surprised when Leslie walked in. She jumped up to greet her with a smile "Leslie." She smiled in greeting, "you came!"

"Sorry I'm late." She said quietly its just I was busy settling Richard in for the night." She told Anne.

"No that's okay." Anne said to her.

"I didn't know it was a costume party." She said looking around.

"Its not necessary." Anne confirmed with a quick look around "though its arguably a popular theme." She confirmed. "We have punch," she told Leslie pointing over to the bowl.

"I like..." Leslie started before she stopped herself. "Um, well your costume." She said.

"We're Bonnie and Clyde." Anne said with a smile "You know I longed to have blonde hair, all my life, now I have this wig on, it doesn't feel like me." She said with a grin. "So you know about Bonnie and Clyde?" Anne asked.

"I, I liked history at school, they were the biggest embezzlement,couple, arguably in history." She said.

"Doesn't Gilbert look handsome in his braces?" Anne said with a smile. "Though I prefer her hair natural, he doesn't look like Gilbert without his curls."

"Anne," she heard one of her classmates call for her.

"Enjoy." Anne said to Leslie as she left her.

Leslie moved tentively over to the punch bowl and got herself a drink. She was so busy concentrating on looking inconspicuous she failed to see the man approach her from behind.

"Hello again." He said to her.

She turned and suddenly was eye to eye with a very handsome dark greyed eyed man she had met less then a month ago, she was shocked a little to see him there though it would make sense, he had obviously made friends with Anne, there was no reason why he wouldn't be there.

"Did we get as far as that last time?" she said her lips upturning in victory.

He broke into a perfect smile and a chuckle escaped his mouth "No," he confirmed "no I don't even think we got as far as real formalities."

"Yes," she said trying to push him away mentally from her "I believe you got as far as the 'Mrs' and lost interest."

"Now, that's a little unfair!" he proclaimed "I was just surprised is all." He told her. "I wouldn't expect someone so young to be married."

"Well," she tried again pushing him away mentally "young and foolish were two words to describe me growing up, I'd hope that was warning enough for you." She said glancing at Anne and Gilbert "did they tell you?" she asked.

"Yes." He confirmed. "I'm sorry for..." he started.

"Do not pity me!" she demanded.

"Its not pity its empathy." He said to her firmly but not unkindly. She chuckled in an ironic manner but he continued "Look you may be a Mrs, but I don't believe it prevents us from becoming friends." He told her.

"It would if you met my husband." She huffed.

"Then I shall be extra careful not to." He told her. "So lets start with names shall we?" he asked her "I go by Owen. Owen Ford." He told her his hand going out in front of him to shake her hand, if she chose to take it.

She looked at him her face torn between bemusement, fascination and discouragement. It took her a few seconds before she said softly "Leslie." She told him taking his hand and shaking it.

"There you see." He said with a grin to her "Friends."

"Is that how it feels to have one?" she asked quietly but not entirely sarcastically.

"You know Gilbert and Anne have a wonderful view from their balcony, there's very little lighting this far up, so you can see the stars." He informed her. "Would you like to see them?" he asked her.

"You can't woo me Mr Ford." She told him.

"I'm not trying to, just , I think it would be nicer out there and be able to talk to each other then in here where we can't really get to know each other properly." He told her. He smiled then said "well tell you what, to prove it, I'm going to go out there, on my own and watch the world go by, I will do this regardless of if you join me or not, if you chose to, I'll enjoy the company." He told her.

She smiled surprised at his behaviour as he started to walk away she said to him "You know this is very different to your muteness on our last encounter." She told him.

He turned, still walking backwards and said "well I'd hate to be accused of not growing."

It was half an hour later when Anne looked out the window to see Owen and Leslie on the balcony, she looked on worried for a few seconds before she heard Gilbert behind her "I think Owen has a crush." He admitted.

Anne sighed reaching for his hand placing it around his waist "for what it's worth I don't think he would act on those feeling as long as she remained married."

Gilbert sighed heavily "I hope not for both their sakes." They hugged for a moment or two before he asked "I don't see that girl here, you know the one I met the first day, dark hair, slim...?"

"Katherine," Anne reminded him. "She doesn't like me."

Gilbert looked to her perplexed reflecting "doesn't like you?"

"Sometimes I wonder if moving to Kingsport again was such a good idea." She told him quietly. "I seem to have found more people to hate me rather then like me."

Gilbert chuckled and looked at her for a moment. "You found two people who don't love you Anne, what about all your friends you have here, Phil and Jo, Josie..."

"Oh its a fine state when Josie is counted as a friend..." Anne muttered, though Gilbert pretended to ignore the comment continued

"Cornelia, Captain Jim, Owen..." he paused for a moment and added quietly "...me."

Anne signed and turned in his arms looking with flirting eyes towards him "And believe me if it was only the last one, it would be well worth the move." She said with a smile.

His grin increased as she had flirted he looked into her eyes and whispered "Oh yeah?" he asked.

She giggled returning the gesture looking into his eyes "Yeah." She agreed. "And I know what you're thinking." She said to him practically, she looked puzzled for a moment she quickly finished the thought "I can't have everyone like me."

He grinned with a nod "Well its true." He said.

"Does anyone not like you?" she asked him.

Gilbert stood a little straighter then with a cheeky look on his face said "Course not, they all love me." He told her with a chuckle along with hers. "But then I _am_ the exception which proves the rule."

"Umm," Anne said her lips pressing "you're _something_ alright."

He chuckled and kissed into her hair for a moment before he looked around them, "I think you have far more people who like you Anne, and as Leslie is warming to you its not so bad."

Anne sighed "I think I make headway with her only for her to return to icy with me if she sees me happy." She sighed "I understand why." She added sadly.

"She doesn't hate you." Gilbert said to her softly hugging her in.

"I wish she could be happy." Anne added, at this Gilbert squeezed her more.

"One of the many things I love you for." He said to her with a smile.

She chuckled and looking into his eyes asked "Yeah?"

"Yeah." He said nodding, "and another..." he whispered pulling her back and looking her up and down his eyes momentarily gazing into her décolletage which her top showed off amply. "Wow!" he said his eyes finally meeting back with hers she giggled at his actions.

"Is that lust Mr Blythe?" she asked him.

"You better believe it!" he exclaimed with a smile he took her hand and kissed the back of it "I do believe however when everyone goes home..." He said pulling her back to him and with a wink of confidence he whispered "...you stay." He said with a grin "and you take off that wig." He said with a confused look.

"and you your curls." Anne's smile widened to a real smile "Because you are my home." She reiterated.

* * *

Leslie looked at her watch suddenly realising they had been out on the balcony alone for an hour. She stood up shocked and said "I must go, I didn't intend on staying so long!" she exclaimed to which Owen also stood.

"H-have I offended you?" he asked her concerned.

"N-no," she said confused "no, of course not, its been lovely, but I- I mustn't stay any longer, Richard will be furious!" she said a shake in her voice.

"Please..." Owen started clearly conflicted, he looked to her with wide eyes hers staring back at him for a few seconds.

"Please, you must let me go." She whispered, to which he looked at her anxious about her state, he wasn't holding her there, she could leave.

"Of course there's no question of it." He told her. "I was only going to ask if we could meet again, maybe here at Anne's place, just, the next time we meet, for us to be friends again." He asked her, his heart pounding in his ears.

Leslie nodded before she said "I like you very much Owen, but I have to go." She said turning and going back through the doors into the apartment, there she found her host not far from the doors along with her friend Cornelia , Anne smiled as Leslie approached "I'm sorry I couldn't stay too long," Leslie said hurriedly to Anne.

"No its okay." Anne said to her with a smile of concern "as long as you enjoyed yourself while you were here." She said to Leslie.

"I-I.." she faulted for a moment and looked sadly back at Owen who looked perplexed from the balcony. "I did, its just..." she said still hurriedly. "I have to go, t-thank you Anne." She said before she turned on her heel and left.

Anne sighed, then looked towards Cornelia who sighed and shrugged sadly "I better go and see if Owen is alright." Anne said softly. She picked up a shawl Mrs Lynde had crocheted her for the "Cold winter" wrapped it round her shoulders and went out to the balcony.

Owen was still standing perplexed but looked to Anne when she approached "D-Did she say anything?" he asked her.

"Only that she had a lovely time." Anne said to him. "So, she enjoyed your company at least." Anne said to him.

Owen sighed sitting down, Anne sat in the seat Leslie had just occupied "She's the most lovely creature I've ever met." He said quietly.

Anne sighed and looked to him sadly.

"I know she's married, but there's something more to her, is there not Anne, you'll tell me won't you? I'm not imaging it?" he questioned.

"There is something kindred about her, but I'm afraid as long as she keeps us at arms distance we can't help her as we should."

He sighed heavily and looked down at his shoes. He stayed there for a few minutes with Anne, just in a silence which was filled with unanswered questions and emotions.

Anne then looked back into the party and Captain Jim caught her eye, she then looked back to Owen and said "Owen, you write non fiction right?"

* * *

It was a few days later when Owen accidently ran into Leslie at the market.

"Owen!" she exclaimed surprised.

"Leslie." He replied with a smile on his face "what a surprise to meet you here."

"The weekly shop." She said carefully.

He smiled "the market closest to my student halls is closed for refurbishment." He said to her "coming here was the next closest."

Leslie nodded sadly.

"I'm glad." Owen said with a smile "I might just come here more often." He said, to which she blushed shyly and started to walk away "No Leslie please..." he started but noticed the grimace on her face as he had grabbed her by the arm he looked confused at the action then looked down at the arm, his hold had exposed just above her wrist he could see the beginnings of a bruise, to which he took her arm and with a small protest from Leslie he swept up the sleeve revealing a bruise which dominated her forearm. He looked at it shocked then to her who pulled her arm away blushing more, covering back up. "Leslie..." he whispered.

"I-It's nothing Mr Ford." She stuttered not giving eye contact, "I-um, I fell down the st-" she started.

"Please, don't lie." He said quietly. "There's only one thing which leave a bruise like that." He said to her quietly. "Leslie..." he trailed.

" _Please_!" she begged him " _Please_ don't Owen." She whispered looking at him.

Owen was conflicted, he pained for her, he hadn't even met the fellow and he hated her husband, but she was intent on staying. He swallowed closing his eyes for a moment he whispered to her "There's a coffee shop, just over the road," Owen said to her "Do you have time for a coffee?" he asked her.

She looked at him for a second not sure to trust him or not before she quietly said "I go to that coffee shop after I do the shopping, and I couldn't stop, neither would I ignore anyone I knew from entering said establishment, and if I did know them, I might just would maybe if I was already sitting allow them to sit with me."

The side of his lips upturned in both appreciation for her predicament and the way she was able to think on her feet for a way to work things to her advantage. "I should finish my shopping then." He said with a smile. "I'll um, see you around." He said with a glance to her.

It was twenty minutes later when he saw her, sitting on her own in the coffee shop, he walked over and said to her "Leslie, what a surprise to bump into you twice in one day."

Leslie smiled before she answered "Good afternoon Mr Ford." She said to him. "I trust your studies are going well?" she asked him.

"They are indeed!" he exclaimed.

"You know Anne gave me your book to read, she seemed quite pleased with it," Leslie said as Owen pointed towards the empty chair opposite her which she nodded in return he sat down asking her

"Do you agree with Anne's assessment?" Owen asked her.

"Anne is an eternal romantic, only ever seeing the romance around her, she's never seen the dark side of the world, her opinion is somewhat rose tinted."

Owen looked up a little surprised my Leslie's opinion, "Well, I can't say I know Anne's history very well," Owen admitted, "but have you read her book?" he asked.

"Anne has a book?" Leslie asked surprised.

Owen smiled before he said "she does, she and I are the two published authors on our course," he reflected "and as I said I don't know Anne's history very well, but her writing certainly reflects more then a rose tinted view of the world. Her book you know is a series of short stories and where some are romantic, some are not, some are very raw and sad in places and its my experience in order to write like that, you must experience something like it, something as broken as hurt as unromantic."

Leslie looked at him shocked "But, she's girlfriend to her high school sweetheart..." she said confused.

"No, They only got together after the end of college, Gilbert told me that." Owen corrected.

"But the pictures in their apartment, they looked so happy!" Leslie said confused.

"Yes when they were together. They were friends, you seem I think for a long time, but not loved for a while."

Leslie shook her head then said "but she has a home to go to, family..."

Again Owen shook his head "Forgive me Leslie but Anne was adopted at age sixteen, she was in and out of care homes or foster homes up until then. She had no home for a long time, her parents died when she was only three."

Leslie swallowed for a moment knowing she had prejudged a little. "But still, she is in a good relationship all is well that ends well." She muttered.

"Well yes, they are together now, but maybe todays lesson is that we don't know everything." He said his grey eyes far off in thought. "Like we don't know everything about you." He said to her looking up and interested.

"Oh, well there's really not much to tell." She muttered.

"Oh I doubt that." Owen said with a smile. "Let's start at the beginning."

* * *

Leslie arrived back in the apartment and took a deep breath waiting for him to bark.

"Leslie!" he shouted, "Is that you?"

"Yes." She answered timidly.

"Where have you been?" he barked appearing at the door into the living room. "Not with that Anne again were you?" still asked despite the fact he could see she was going in and out the door bringing the food in.

"No," she said quiet still "I wasn't with Anne, or Cornelia, I went to the shops to get food."

He finally came over only to grab her by the neck bringing her eyes to his. She looked at him, despite not wanting to, but tried her best not to flinch, not to let him catch her in the lie, no she wasn't with Anne, she wasn't with Cornelia, she wasn't lying. He set her down loosing his grip on her then asked her "Did you go to the doctors? Get my prescription?" he asked her. She nodded bringing it out of the bag handing it to him "You know one day you'll come home and I'll overdose on this." He said in a threatening voice "then you'll be sorry."

She swallowed watching him go back into the living room, she dared not voice what she was thinking.

* * *

"Did she say the bruises were from Richard?" Gilbert asked Owen the next day when he had came up to the apartment to go over some study notes with Anne.

"Well, _no_ she didn't actually _say_ that." Owen admitted.

"Then its a suspicion, not a fact." Gilbert said practically.

"Oh but Gilbert don't be so heartless!" Anne exclaimed sadly.

"I'm not." He tried. "we need to be careful how we tread in this Anne."

"What if it were me? Gil Blythe you'd be the first person jumping to my defence."

"Always, he said without malice "But I'm not the boy who gave Roy a black eye anymore Anne, and I am defending Leslie!" Gilbert defended

Anne opened her mouth to object but Owen interrupted "I'm afraid he's right, we need to be there for her Anne, we need to protect her as much as we are able to, I did give her the number for the national domestic helpline, I told her she could confine in us, in all of us. But she denied it, she denied it all."

"We can make our home a safe haven for her, we can talk to her, we can love her, show her we care and be there for her when she needs us." Gilbert said popping his arm around Anne reassuringly. "We need to look for signs too, if it was that she fell down the stairs this time, its a possibility, but we all need to be on the lookout, and keep her safe."

"You really would keep her safe Gilbert?" Anne asked him.

Gilbert looked into her eyes and said quietly "With my life." To which Anne smiled and hugged into him.

The three friends were silent for a moment before Anne said quietly "its so sad."

Gilbert held her closer as the two of them looked to Owen who nodded his head "I know Anne, I know." He looked up to Owen and said "tell her she can come here, she can stay here whenever she needs to, we will protect her."

"I will." Owen said to her "and try to convince her that if it is abuse, to get out!"

* * *

"Leslie!" Anne exclaimed happily opening the door. "How are you?" she asked her trying to sound as though she wasn't preying.

"I'm... I'm good." She said quietly. "Owen said, that you have a book." She said handing back the book which she borrowed from Anne.

"I do." Anne admitted with a smile.

"I would, I think I would like to read it?" she asked Anne.

Anne smiled and nodded "if you would like, though don't get your hopes up." Anne told her. "But I will get it for you."

"D-did, Owen tell you about the other day?" she asked as they walked over to the bookshelf.

"He did." Anne said quietly.

Leslie took a deep sigh. "He overreacted, its sweet but I _really_ did just fall." She said her hand sweeping her hair off her face nervously. "You believe me don't you?" she asked Anne.

"Honestly?" Anne asked her without waiting for an answer "No, I don't believe it, I think your husband is abusive, I don't know if its physical, maybe this is a first, maybe it was just a fall, I don't believe either. I think that the physical abuse you feel you can handle," Anne told her "but I think its not just physical." She said honestly.

"Anne... _please_ don't say anything to anyone? I don't mind you knowing, but please..."

"You want me to protect an _abuser_?" she asked.

"I want you to protect _me_!" Leslie exclaimed.

Anne let out a puff of air before she wiped down her face "I won't protect an abuser, don't ask that of me Leslie." They stood silent for a moment before Anne said quietly "Come here." Anne said to her. "Come and stay with Gilbert and I, we can protect you."

"Richard will know I'm here." Leslie said shaking her head.

"then go to Owen's!" Anne exclaimed.

"And be accused of adultery!" Leslie exclaimed.

"Better that then endure abuse!" Anne tried.

Leslie sighed and shook her head "Do you have any idea just how complex this all is?" Leslie asked her.

Leslie jumped at the male voice, she hadn't known Gilbert was in the apartment "She has every idea." He said to her.

"Gilbert." Leslie said to her looking at him wide eyed. "I didn't know you were home."

"I was studying in our room." He said to her and added quietly "Leslie, Anne's offer remains open, no matter how complex it is, our door is always open to you." He told her gently.

Leslie swallowed before looking down and nodding. "Thank you, _both_ of you." With Anne's book in hand turned and walked out the room.

Gilbert crossed to the apartment and took Anne in his arms. "I can't, I can't protect an abuser." Anne whispered to Gilbert. "I did it once before to the man abusing me, I won't do it again." She whispered.

He hugged her in close kissing her on top of her hair, his arms around her she was completely enveloped in his stance. "I know Anne." He whispered gently "I know."

* * *

Gilbert sighed heavily as he entered the empty apartment. Anne was at a launch tonight he was off late enough that he couldn't make it, turning up late was a big 'no no' at these events so he reached into the freezer to a Mother made ready meal and heated it up in the microwave.

Anne had thrown herself into this new life of theirs, with so much gusto it actually worried him. She was tired of late and was working hard, hard at the publishers, hard at school and this nonsense about Katherine had gone on long enough for his liking.

Had it been him, he would have given up on becoming the girls friend all together, well the same could be said of Leslie, but Leslie he believed reminded Anne of herself, of what she had endured, in a different way yes, but all the same, Anne found something kindred there, Anne liked the unexpected, seemed to want to fix the misfits of society and mother them. He grinned at the thought, and then remembered it was that sort of love which made him fall for her in the first place. If she made her mind up to like someone she was fiercely loyal.

He loved it in her, so he couldn't try and tame it as much as he might like to. And why would he? He had learned long ago that while he never talked of Anne in their two years apart when Anne was asked about Gilbert she would lay on the praise about him. He grinned again removing the food from microwave, he felt so proud to have her in Kingsport with him. He loved having her there with him but, in the two years they had been apart, had she worked this hard? If she had, he was glad he wasn't there to witness it. Though perhaps, he was a little hypocritical in this assessment so he didn't tend to bring it up.

* * *

Five hours later Anne slipped off her shoes coming into the living room she found him slumped over his laptop asleep in front of it, she smiled slightly of the irony of his head pressing down on the 'z' key the screen filled with the letter.

Her fingers trailed across his neck butterfly light but it woke him

"Anne-Girl." He whispered hoarsely. "What time is it?"

"One." She said tired. "It was a good launch." She said with a smile.

He wiped one hand on his face. "Good." he said sleepily. "You didn't meet any tall dark handsome strangers to sweep you off your feet did you?" he said looking up at the computer screen and tutting.

Anne chuckled at him "Aplenty." She said with a grin to him "though none could tempt me away from you love." He grinned up at her as she brought her lips to his in a sweet kiss. "We're ready for bed."

"I can't disagree." He said allowing her to help him up from the floor, as soon as he was standing his arm was around her softly.

"That can't have been comfortable?" she questioned.

"I was asleep, I didn't really know." He said his other hand coming behind his neck to rub it.

Anne scoffed before she whispered "I could see to that for you love?" she asked him.

He smiled and in a whisper said "a massage from my girlfriend?" he flirted, "Now there's something every boy should hear." He told her before she giggled lightly. "How was school?" he asked her.

"I have an Adaptions piece due in next week, its a direct comparison between Shakespeare's Taming of the Screw, Text, Play and modern film." She sighed heavily. "with the theme's of course, feminism, power, sex, control..." she said her dress being shrugged onto the bedroom floor her nightie being flung on as she spoke.

"Which of course the play would be the thing!" Gilbert said with a smile.

"Naturally!" Anne exclaimed, "but the closest thing we have is a recording of the play." She told him "but there's something magical about the theatre..." she said dreamily "it's like you're meant to be experiencing it with them, you have the other members of the audiences reactions, now two performances are exactly alike!" she told him climbing into bed with a yawn.

"But right now you need to sleep!" he told her softly.

"I know I know." She said with a little cough to her chest. He looked at her concerned for a moment before she tried to reassure him she was indeed fine. She sleepily rubbed his neck as he nuzzled down into her breasts. She didn't know he stayed awake listening to her breathing just to be sure.

* * *

A week later Gilbert came in the apartment and was surprised to find Anne sitting crossed legged on the floor with Katherine sitting opposite her on the other side of the coffee table. "Hello." Gilbert said with a smile to Katherine. "Anne, honey." He said with a quizzical look on his face.

"Katherine and I got matched on our end of term assignment." Anne answered him throatily.

Gilbert looked at her with furrowed brow "Sweetheart?" he asked concerned "Is your throat okay?"

"I've been telling her to take something for it." Katherine accused her.

"It's just scratchy." Anne told him.

Gilbert took off his coat and bag putting them on the sofa he leaned over her concerned "You're face is a little flushed, and love you look pale." He said concerned.

"I always look pale." She muttered.

"Not this kind, don't play the fool." He told her practically. His hand went to her forehead for a moment "Anne, you're burning up." He told her, "You need to listen to Katherine and take something."

"See." Katherine said drolly. "Is it contagious?" she asked suddenly concerned.

Gilbert inspected his girlfriend going through a check up and looked to her concerned "Well, you need not concern yourself Katherine this is bacterial not a virus." He told her.

"What do I need?" Anne asked him.

"Most bacterial infections do clear up on their own within a few days, medical recommendations are to only take Tylenol if you're in pain." He said going into the kitchen and into the draw he walked back with the Tylenol in his hand he put the packet in front of her.

"Its not hurting me." She croaked to which he looked at her unimpressed by her attempt she picked up the tablets and took two.

"We'll keep an eye on it, if it hasn't cleared up in a few days you'll need to go down to the walk in clinic and get some antibiotics." He told her doctor like.

Anne smiled looking up at him "you're a good doctor already." She smiled at him.

"Don't flatter me to try and distract me," Gilbert said with a smile to her.

"This is sickening." Katherine said looking at the pair.

Anne looked to her in shock "don't you believe in love Katherine?"

"Love is just a word used to described a biochemical reaction." She said her nose upturning.

"Have you never been in love?" Anne asked her.

"Please, don't be ridiculous." She said flatly looking down at her work.

Gilbert and Anne gave each other a bemused look.


	60. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 24

**Hi Everyone!**

 **Thank you all for your lovely reviews over the past couple of weeks!**

 **I'm sorry I am super busy at the moment, my older child has broken up from school just on Friday and the school was very busy the last couple of weeks, then I've been physicking myself up for the six weeks, getting stuff organised and my mother in law hasn't been too well, Oh and I'm doing a sponsored walk which is taking up time everyday and I'm potty training and bed training my two year old, so its been one thing and another and another...**

 **But so you all know, I'm not giving up, its just that I may need more time between chapters, so I'm sorry for the delay but they are coming!**

 **love Carrots x**

* * *

Anne looked confused as a women opened the door who wasn't Cornelia for a moment before she heard Cornelia shout "who is it?"

"Its just me Cornelia." Anne shouted back.

"Ah Anne!" she heard "come in, come in! That's Abby!" Cornelia asked.

"Hello." Anne smiled to the women.

"Hello." She smiled "don't mind me I'm just on my way out." She said.

"Oh you don't have to." Cornelia said coming out the bedroom. "Anne won't judge." She said with a smile to Anne and a kiss to Abby.

"Oh!" Anne exclaimed happily "A girlfriend!" Anne said.

"No, no,not as far as that!" Cornelia said as Abbie likewise shook her head.

"No?" Anne questioned.

"Well, yes, you know!" Cornelia said, "but we're not serious, A series of hook ups, at the moment."

Anne smiled "I'm glad she went out and got herself out there." Anne told Abby "The whole time I've known her, no boyfriends, no girlfriends, no hook ups even and Leslie tells me it goes further back then meeting me."

"I'm fussy what can I say!" Cornelia said with a smile. "what can I help you with Anne?" she asked.

"Our spare key," Anne said holding it up.

Cornelia nodded and took it "Yes,I almost forgot." Cornelia acknowledged, "Anne and the Doctor is going back home for a couple of weeks, they've asked me to check all is well with the apartment while they're gone." She told Abby.

"And if its needed..." Anne trailed looking at Cornelia with meaning.

"I doubt she'd take it." Cornelia said.

"I know, but just in case." Anne said quietly.

"Where is home?" Abby asked Anne.

"Prince Edward Island." Anne said with a smile.

"Oh!" Abby exclaimed. "Oh I used to spend my summers there as a child, in Charlottetown, my Aunty lives on the island." She smiled "its so beautiful there, I love the red roads!"

Anne smiled "then I like you already Abby." She said with a smile to Cornelia, "anyway, must be off, Gilbert is loading the car as we speak." Anne smiled "I don't want to get to the car to find Gilbert has started studying already!" Anne joked.

"Oh tell the Doctor to relax a little, it'll be his last chance for a while yet." Cornelia said.

Anne smiled wickedly "Well Cornelia, that almost sounded as though you like my Gilbert!"

"As close as I get to liking a man!" she quipped with a smile. "Have a nice holiday!"

* * *

"Gilbert!" He heard from Blythe farm veranda, there with his father and finally the owner of the voice, his mother.

"Mom!" he exclaimed smiling running up wrapping his arms around his mother. "I've missed you." He whispered.

"I missed you too son." She whispered to him, then when she saw Anne come up the veranda steps her other arm came out to draw her in too. Anne smiled and tucked into Mrs Blythe too.

"Now tell me son, will a nice hot drink help or hinder your girlfriend's condition?" Mrs Blythe asked him.

"Condition?" Anne asked "its a bacterial infection! I have antibiotics!"

"Help, if not by actuality, its helping by lifts the spirits." Gilbert acknowledged.

"Honey and lemon tea?" Mrs Blythe offered.

As they went inside Gilbert said "Actually both Honey and Lemon's have natural antibacterial properties." He said with a grin as they went into the kitchen.

* * *

"So much has happened Diana," Anne said softly her eyes reflecting her voice the next day as they sat and talked at Green Gables "and I'm not just talking about my master's programme." She iterated.

"I don't think those women really hate you." Diana tried to reassure her, "they both sound jealous to me." She said her arms crossing in front of her. "I don't mean that meanly, but it sounds like Leslie is jealous because you are in a happy relationship and hers is on the road to doom..."

"But Diana..." Anne started to reprimand.

"Did I say it was her fault?" Diana corrected her friend reading her mind. "No, I said her relationship is unhappy Anne, its a fact not an opinion." She continued "No, as for Katherine it sounds as though she is jealous because you've been published, as young as you are, you have the disposition to make friends easily and you have a dishy boyfriend." Diana said with a co-conspirators smile said "although anyone would be mad not to be jealous of that!"

"Diana!" Anne exclaimed her cheeks blushing, she then giggled, then added "but yeah." She admitted.

Diana sighed at her friend then said "You've been working really hard, haven't you?" she asked her.

"Well, _hard_." Anne said with a shrug. "It's all releven..." she started before Diana interrupted.

"Gilbert said he was worried just how hard you've been working." Diana admitted. "You need to take better care of yourself." She said as only a mother could.

"Yes mom." Anne said with a chuckle. "I'm only on these antibiotics another three days you know?" Anne tried to reassure her. "I'm not even sick anymore." She said stubbornly.

Diana smiled and asked "Christmas is in three days, what are you and Gilbert doing for it and New Year?"

"Charlie and Josie are hosting a new years party on their garden rooftop and it is beautiful up there, no doubt it'll be good music..." Anne said with a smile.

"And even better booze!" Diana laughed which made Anne laugh.

"Yes, probably!" Anne agreed. "Although luckily we are within walking distance home." Anne added. "And we're having Christmas dinner at Green Gables then having Christmas dinner at 6pm at Blythe farm, as per tradition."

"That's right, you've told me that before, the Blythe's have dinner on the evening." Diana said with a sigh "so no time for your old kindred spirit?" Diana asked her.

Anne looked at her shocked and said "Diana, I always have time for you!" she exclaimed.

"How about New Years day?" Diana asked her, "the boys can go out on the lake for some ice fishing its been frozen over a week already?"

Anne smiled and nodded "Its a date."

* * *

Anne threw her arms out beside her looking up at the night sky "Have you seen the sky tonight?!" She exclaimed the winter breeze blowing on her loose red hair. "The stars are so clear Gil!" she exclaimed. "How lovely its how we remember our new year" she exclaimed looking back to him with a smile "Have you ever seen anything so glorious!?"

He came in behind her holding her round the waist and kissed her neck "I can think of a thing or two." He whispered lowly, almost in a growl.

"Ummm." She sounded leaning back into him feeling his torso against her back. "You unbuttoned your coat." She whispered.

"I need to be close to you." He whispered.

"You'll catch cold." She said practically feeling his hand slip below her waist to which she gasped in delight. "Gil." She whispered her head leaning back exposing her neck to him he took the invitation.

One hand came up cupping her breast under her t-shirt she giggled for a moment before she whispered "Here Gilbert?" she questioned.

He shrugged looking out on Barry's Pond for a moment he whispered to her "Let's make it a little more private." He said leading her up to Miller's Bench. "I've been thinking about this since last year." He whispered as they sat down, him first on the bench she faced away from him sitting on his knee she soon slid down his thighs grinding her derrière there making his breath shudder and his desire rise. "Anne!" he breathed out his chest rising and lowering in quick succession. She turned her legs going either side of him playfully.

"Right here?" she asked unbuttoning his jeans "Right now?" she flirted.

"Oh Please! Yes!" He whispered back his hands slipping up her thighs bringing her skirt up her legs.

Anne giggled "We're soooo tipsy!" she giggled as their noses rubbed in the cold.

"I think its keeping us warm." He laughed bringing her closer to his now exposed frontal area.

"So you won't regret it?" she teased him.

He looked into her eyes and whispered "I couldn't let your first time being a drunk time." He told her straight. "Do you have any idea, _any idea_ how much I controlled myself that first year?" he asked her, she didn't answer but looked into his eyes. "I would never regret making love with you." He smiled as they looked each other in the eyes they're bodies uniting, their bodies shuddering at the act she leaned in again "Especially not here." He said with a grin his hand returning under her clothes to cup her again.

"A-after, l-la...ahh" she said her body building in a frenzy.

He chuckled barely being audible he finished "year?" he asked, to which she only nodded. He felt her move closer, his legs felt of cold and jelly but his whole body was on fire as she leaned further into him closer and faster until she stopped in a shudder. He chuckled knowing she was satisfied he safely felt his own satisfaction, she leaned back watching his finish, his eyes opened and they smiled satisfied for a moment before they kissed each other lightly.

She smiled as they pulled back slightly and whispered "Does that fulfil the fantasy?" she asked which a chuckle which made him laugh.

"Utterly." He agreed with a nod, leaving them both giggling like children in a conspiracy. He looked up at her the same glint in their eyes he whispered "Share a shower when we get home?" he asked her, to which she smiled and nodded, with it said it took them another fifteen minutes to leave the bench and start walking towards Blythe Farm.

* * *

"Happy New Year!" Anne and Gilbert exclaimed together as Diana opened the door at almost 1pm on New Years day.

"Happy New Year!" Diana exclaimed back with a smile. When Gilbert let Anne over the threshold of the door she said "Oh, first foot!" she said to Anne.

"I thought that was the first man across the threshold?" Fred asked from behind them.

"Oh Bish!" Diana exclaimed "Its called equality." She said with a smile. Handing Anne a small package of homemade biscuits, jam cheese and cake. "Plus I have one for Gilbert too!" she said bringing another from the side.

"First foot?" Gilbert asked with a thank you. "Are you telling me no one came knocking on the door at midnight for first footing?" he asked.

"Well they might have but we wouldn't know we were fast asleep upstairs." She said which made Anne and Gilbert chuckle.

"Knocking at midnight?" Anne asked him.

"When I was younger I'd wait until midnight then go over my parents door threshold get the goods off them..." he said then stopped for a moment as Anne and Diana looked at him "then teamed up with the local lads to see how many homes we could first foot and have all their goods." Gilbert said with a chuckle.

"Oh Gilbert you didn't!" Anne exclaimed shocked he would do such a thing.

"It was only a couple of years for me, before dad got sick, then I stopped but I believe some of the other lads carried on the tradition for a good few years after that." He said with a look to Fred that neither Diana nor Anne missed.

"Fred Wright!" Diana exclaimed.

"Hey now come now we stopped by the time we were sixteen." He said with a grin "by then we were down in the woods drinking too much beer for our own good for new years." He said with a grin "so many hangovers the next day." He said with a grin.

"Well I'm glad Diana made an honest man out of you then." Anne rebuked him "at least for the health benefits." Diana happily scoffed and Fred chuckled before she asked "Do you need help getting the children ready? Its rather cold out there today."

"I hope so, otherwise ice fishing would be wasted." Fred said "Speaking of which is Barry's Pond...?" Fred trailed asking Gilbert.

"Still safety iced over we'll be fine for a few days yet." Gilbert said with a smile.

"Good," Fred said with a grin "Its Freddie first time you know, I don't want him seeing his old man sinking."

"Freddie is only a few months old." Diana said with a roll in her eyes.

"I hope you're looking forward to taking Anne-Cordy out?" Anne asked him.

"Well, yes, she's old enough to hold a rod now and smart enough not to go near the holes!" Fred said with a grin.

"And we the ladies will be happy to walk around the pond, come home early and pea soup ready for you boys coming home."

"And the fish, don't forget the fish!" Gilbert said with a grin. "I always loved new years!" he said with a twinkle in his eye to Anne.

"Auntie Anne!" Little Anne Cordy exclaimed jumping into her arms.

"Anne Cordy!" she exclaimed picking the child up in her arms.

"'appy now year!" she hugged Anne.

"Happy new year!" She said with a giggle as the little girl pulled back.

"I already know how to write our name Aunty Anne, mamma showed me how, she said I should know before I got to school to impress the teacher!" she said to Anne.

"I'm sure it would." Anne agreed putting the child on the floor and crouching down to her level "can you show me?" she asked the child, who nodded leading Anne into the living room with her.

Gilbert felt his lips upturn in to a smile.

She really would be a good mother one day.

* * *

A few days later John Blythe sat back on Green Gables veranda with his wife and Marilla watching Gilbert, Anne, Davy, Dora Millie and little Anne C in a snowball fight across the front of Green Gables yard.

It was of course a military based game of snowball not some unorganised unsocial game, no, it was two forts built each one with a load of snow balls stacked beside the bases. Gilbert ever the valiant had the fort to protect himself, but gallantly used himself as a human shield over Anne C and Anne protecting them from 'unfriendly fire'. Dora who normally didn't like snowball fights (because usually it consisted of her brother aiming endlessly at her then stuffing one of the balls down the back of her jumper making her scream at the freezing water as it melted down her formally warm back) was enjoying being on Davy's side for one, when he saw Gilbert protecting his girls, well he sure did the same.

John looked back at Marilla who was sitting across from him. He couldn't help but think of the time they were about Davy's age, maybe a little younger.

 _"Hey!" John had objected to the lads who were surrounding Marilla as she tried to walk home from school in the snow. The boys had surrounded her threatenely, John knew the current trend was to hide stones in the snowballs and Marilla, (to her credit) was one of the smartest girls in school, which often ticked off the other boys, especially the bullies, the low life's, the ones who would never make anything of themselves, the ones currently surrounding Marilla. "Leave her alone!" he told them catching up to them looking them square in the eye, He was six foot, Marilla only five-five, the boys around her were round about his height, she would stand no chance against them "Go pick on someone your own size."_

 _"Should have known you would come to her rescue!" One had taunted him._

 _"Oh sure you did, is that why you picked on her? So I could beat you up?" John asked them, the boys all looked worriedly at each other before John swung his arm around Marilla's back. "How about you boys remember this." He told them all making sure he got eye contact with every single one of them "Marilla Cuthbert, is under my care, and any of you who think on picking on her, will have me to answer to." He told them all "Got it?" he asked before the boys all disperse around them only grouping again when John and Marilla had passed them, John's arm still around her back, came up to her shoulder as he pulled her in and whispered. "We need to stay like this until we're out of eyeshot." He told her "Make it look like we're together."_

 _They rounded a corner where his arm was shrugged off as he let go she looked at him with daggers in her eyes "why did you do that?" she demanded._

 _John looked somewhere between shocked, terrified and intrigued. "Do what?" he asked her as they continued to walk, (she told him later much to her horror, but it was much to his delight)._

 _"Now they are going to think we're a couple!" she told him._

 _"Well it wouldn't be so bad would it?" he asked her, knowing he was at least the best looking boy in school._

 _"I could have handled it myself! She told him._

 _"Really?" he questioned and with a glaring look from Marilla he asked with a upturned grin "how?"_

 _Marilla looked at him icily and frustrated before she turned away and muttered "I would have thought of something."_

 _"Well it meant you didn't have to think of anything." John justified._

 _"You think yourself smarter then me?" She asked him._

 _John shook his head without hesitation "No, no way, you're way smarter then me..." he admitted then after a small pause where she thought she had won the argument "but..."_

 _"But?" she said shooting a look to him surprised._

 _"Well there's different kinds of smarts." He pointed out "school smart, street smart..." he trailed. "and those boys, well they aren't any sort of smart." He said with a grin which made Marilla's lips upturn for a moment "but what they do, so that they pick on the weak and less abled." He said._

 _"And you think me weak and less able?" she questioned, to which he opened his mouth to say something but clearly thought better of it before he shook his head. "because I'm a women?" she asked him._

 _"I did not say that!" he said to her straight._

 _"You thought it, that's why you rescued me, my knight in shining armour." She told him._

 _" Always for you Rilla," he said to her sentimentally, with a look from Marilla he objected to the implied sexism "Hey there is nothing wrong with being a gentlemen!" he told her getting a little worked up himself now._

 _"See there you have it," Marilla objected "if you want to be a gentlemen you think I'm a girl that I need your protection."_

 _"I would do the same for another man if he was being bullied." John returned._

 _"Really?" she asked him her eyebrows quirking._

 _"Yes, really." He said with a nod of his own head to reaffirm it to himself. "Just its also nice to just protect the nice things in this world." He told her._

 _She looked to him and asked "You think I'm nice?" she asked him._

 _He shrugged and looked down to his feet. "You are my equal," He said quietly. "I just saw a situation and I thought I could help."_

 _She blushed away and said quietly "I don't know what to say."_

 _"Not that I expected it or anything, but you could try a thank you."_

 _"You want me in debt to you?" She said defiantly but when John looked to her he could see the wry grin on her face._

 _"How about," John said stopping as they got to the fence at Green Gables separating the Blythe property to theirs "you pay me back." He said with a smile as she turned to object but he put his hand over her mouth "by letting me walk you back here, every day until the snow goes, at very least it'll spare you icy water down your back or worse stones." He said his hand uncovering her mouth._

 _"Stones?" she questioned. "Oh," she realised, "In the snowballs." She said._

 _"Its a cruel trick but I see them do it, I'd hate for you to get hurt, because I like you." He told her with a wink._

 _Her lips upturned for a moment before she said "Awfully sure of yourself Mr Blythe."_

 _"I need to be, no one is going to be sure of myself but me." He said._

 _"Humble too."_

 _"If I said I was that wouldn't be too humble now would it." He grinned._

 _"and astute." She laughed._

 _"Well that one depends." He said to her._

 _"On?" she questioned._

 _"You." He said looking into her blue eyes with his brown ones._

 _"Oh?" she managed to sound._

 _"If you let me walk you home from now on?" he asked her._

 _Marilla blushed slightly with a little grin on her face "I suppose if it puts your mind at ease." She said to him._

 _He grinned back and added "it would, thank you." He said then he turned and started to walk away. "See not to hard to say is it?" he asked her._

 _"What?" she asked him._

 _"Thank you." He smiled "never mind, it gives me plenty of time to get it." He said, unseen to Marilla, Matthew had appeared at the fence "Good afternoon Matthew." John said with a smile to him which made her spin on her foot and look at her brother._

 _"John." Matthew said with a shy smile, before he disappeared into Blythe territory._

"Tea?" Marilla asked him in the present snapping him back into reality.

John looked at her for a moment his mind catching up to the present. "Oh, um, yes please." He told her. She looked at him, noticing the unwavering look in her eyes, he knew she remembered it, he knew she was thinking of that day. Marilla's smile was a kind one but not longing, not that it could or should be, just more of a memory.

Marilla went inside to the kitchen with a smile, of all the things ever to happen between them the one thing she was always scared of was loosing John's friendship.

 _"John we can't!" she had exclaimed._

 _It was the winter after the above memory she and John had made it back to the same fence separating their properties._

 _The past year, she had grown to appreciate John, no he wasn't academically gifted as she was, however he was making average grades and from what Marilla understood his father had shared the farm with him, now 50/50 in work and responsibility, John didn't mind, he loved the farm work and had said on several occasions that he intended on taking over the farm when he was old enough, this had created a type of intelligence, which she liked, she appreciated. He was very practical, very steady in his approach to things and when he wanted to he caught onto things fast enough._

 _Slowly as winter had turned to spring, the snow had disappeared to the point where it had been several weeks since even a thin layer of white decorated Avonlea, yet he still walked her home, chatting animatedly, then slowly week by week, the course of their discussion had changed, they became more personal, they knew practically everything about each other, but this was something, Marilla in particular, with her romantic heart was most afraid of._

 _"Why not?" he asked her his cheeks still pink not from the snow but the small brush of a kiss they had just shared._

 _"You're my friend!" she exclaimed confused. "Friends don't kiss each other."_

 _"How do you think girlfriends and boyfriends become girlfriends and boyfriends?" he questioned her. "A gallant knight in shining armour?" he questioned "a tall dark handsome stranger whisking you off your feet?" he asked her._

 _"No." She said confused still "Just we're friends!" she exclaimed._

 _"be my girlfriend then?" he asked her._

 _"No, no, I'm,I'm just a girl!" she said shaking her head._

 _"Yes, girl-friend." He said with a grin "you."_

 _"A-and you're a boy- boy- boyfriend?" she reasoned._

 _"Me." He agreed. "Boyfriend." She looked up into his eyes before he shrugged and said "if you like?"_

 _"But, I-I, I don't want to loose you." She told him. "I don't want us to change, what if we break up and never speak again?" she asked him._

 _"Marilla Cuthbert," he said to her taking her by the hand then whispered to her "no matter what, I guarantee you one thing." He told her. "no matter what we will always be friends." He told her, "just this is just seeing where we could go, what we could be..." he said quietly then added "together." With no reply he added "plus you can't tell me you didn't enjoy that kiss." He said to her with a twinkle in his eyes._

 _"Shut up!" she told him with a shove. "I can and I will." She said her arms crossing in front of her._

 _His bottom lip protruded in such a way which was very enticing (though Marilla never found out if this was deliberate or not) "fine then." He said with a shrug "see you tomorrow." He said starting to walk past her but he never made it on this attempt, she pulled him to her full body against him in seconds accompanied by her lips on his, his feet almost loosing their grounding but saved himself by wrapping his arms around her leaning into her allowing himself to relax. As they pulled back Marilla thought he looked adorable as his cheeks reddened his hand was immediately touching his lips which bore a smile before his hand swept back into his pompadour hairstyle. "Wow!" he managed._

 _"S-Sorry." She said quietly._

 _"Don't be." John said his smile widening. He cleared his throat and said "see you tomorrow." He said then added happily "girlfriend." The ground beneath them was icy, so as Marilla turned to leave she slipped there where John caught her._

 _She blushed slightly before she whispered "My knight in shining armour."_

 _His grin now full a smile came to his eyes "Always for you Rilla."_

"Do you need help in here?" John asked her snapping her out of the memory this time.

She looked around the kitchen a slight blush came to her cheeks, "I um, well..." she started.

He chuckled at her response though was unsure as to why she was so tongue tied. "Sugar." He said looking at the tray which was void of said substance. He took off to the cupboard where it was kept.

"My knight in shining armour." She said with a wry smile.

John smiled and with a nod replied "Always for you Rilla."

She chuckled gently before she said "You remembered where the sugar is kept."

He shrugged "People don't tend to change around where things are from their childhood." He observed. He smiled again and recalled "do you remember that day, it was Matthew's birthday and so we had made his favourite..."

Marilla chuckled "...and you reached up..."

"I told you I could reach!" he exclaimed.

"I told you to get the stool." She said shaking her head still chuckling.

"If that sugar bag had been unopen it would have been fine!" he exclaimed.

"Whoosh!" Marilla laughed "Sugar all over the kitchen floor."

"We got it all up." With a warning look from Marilla "well most of it."

"Ants!" she laughed.

"Well you don't keep the sugar on the top shelf..." he said with a grin.

She immediately sensed up her smile turning serious "well it would be impractical for me to keep it up there."

"And in case some unwitting idiot came back and spilled sugar all over the place." He said to her handing her the sugar.

She took a sigh and said quietly "I knew you weren't coming back." She said she looked down at her feet "it was a bad argument..." she trailed.

There was a silence for a moment before they both muttered quietly "Sorry." They admitted together, Marilla looked to him wide eyed while he chuckled and brought her in for a side hug a swift kiss to the hair he then said "all is well."

John turned at a scream coming from Anne behind Gilbert out in the snow, and a bold shout of arms from Gilbert himself. John chuckled "it hardly feels five minutes ago we were that young." He said to her.

Marilla smiled looking out at them "We were younger then that John." She told him.

"You've done a fine job you know." He told her straight, "three children, not yours but they are." He said admirably. "You always wanted kids." He said to her softly. "and don't let Rachel take all the credit." He told her sternly as she stood beside him in the doorway looking out to them "She may have six children all of her own but you don't see this kind of bond in them do you?" he said with a playful lifted eyebrow.

"Thank you John." She said quietly "that means a lot." She said with a smile "Especially considering who you're the father of." She said looking at Gilbert.

"Oh that has very little to do with me." He said with a chuckle "A little DNA..." he trailed.

"You're pretending 'the Mrs' had everything to do with it." Marilla said her eyes rolling.

"Well she did." John protested.

"And the fact that he reminds me so clearly of you?" she challenged it.

"Well," he said with a fake shrug "maybe it has to do with who we choose to marry." He said to her "Maybe they create nice boys." He said to her.

Marilla chuckled "And the male feminist? They can't learn that from their mothers?" she asked him with a glint in her eyes, the question was never going to be answered the kettle boiled behind them she went over to pour the liquids Anne came in flushed in the face and looking weary, Gilbert close in behind her.

"Anne, sweetheart?" John asked her "Are you okay?"

She looked to him and sighed with Gilbert protectively speaking for her. "No, she isn't." He said to them "she just looked positively green out there"

"Gil I'm fine!" she tried again.

"Don't try and fool me, I told you last term and I'll tell you it again, you've taken on too much, your first term back Anne and you're on antibiotics!" he told her. "Next semester, you're only taking the proper number of modules and you're cutting your time at the publishers in half." He said sternly.

"Don't tell me what I'll do!" Anne protested her jaw setting her eyes a flame.

"Anne," he tried calmly "please listen to reason, you're picking up sicknesses easier right now, its your body telling you, you're doing too much, its _programmed_ to do it, so listen to your body!"

She looked at him for a moment before she felt dizzy, unknown to her Gilbert caught her in arms and carried her up to her bed in Green Gables.

* * *

When she woke she looked confused "How did I get here?" she asked him.

"You blacked out downstairs I brought you to bed to rest." He said quietly to which he received no response for a few seconds.

"Sorry." She said quietly, "I think you're right."

He chuckled before he quickly quipped "do you think?" he asked her with a grin. "I don't say those things to try and control you..." he told her "I know better then to try and control my redhead."

"Yes, blame it on that." She muttered.

"You _know_ Queen Anne..." he started with a smile to her, "you know I couldn't control you even if your hair was not red."

"Damn right." She said organising the blanket he had put over her.

There was a knock on the door where Marilla appeared with a pot of tea two cups, sugar and milk "You know how to scare us young lady!" she said rather severely. She placed the tray across her legs and then looked at her with wide eyes "don't do it again." She told her.

Anne smiled softly kissing the women's cheek "Yes mother." She said to her. Marilla looked to her and rolled her eyes then asked Gilbert "Does she need a doctor?" Marilla asked him.

"Not at present." He said looking to her again with a smile, "Plenty of fluids and rest."

"That's what all doctors say when they have no idea whats wrong." Anne said with a wicked grin to him.

"Stress and too little sleep." He told her sternly "It has a big effect on the body."

"Gilbert, my almost doctor." Anne said with a smile to him.

"I'm sure if there was something to worry about he would want you to see a doctor who could practice." Marilla said with a smile.

"I would." Gilbert agreed. "It won't be long now until I can practice." Gilbert said with a grin. "Tests pending of course." He said.

"You'll pass." Marilla said "Not because you always have." She added quickly knowing the Blythe temperament "because you'll always will make sure of it."


	61. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 25

**Hi Everyone,**

 **Sorry for the long delays between posting. I'm in the UK and we have a six weeks holidays and I have two kids... soooo...**

 **Thank you everyone for your kind words and encouragement, they aren't ignored or forgotten I feel privileged that people care so much!**

 **Some of you guessed, but here's the next chapter...**

 **love Carrots xx**

* * *

Gilbert kept his arm around her as they arrived back in the apartment, he took her into the bedroom and lay her down "Try to get some sleep." He whispered to her stoking her hair for a moment before he kissed her head "I'll go and get you a hot water bottle and some tea." He told her softly.

'This is worrying' he thought to himself as he shut the bedroom door. Anne had recovered while still in Avonlea, she had enjoyed the last couple of days there, they'd even taken a walk up to Hester's Garden, something they rarely got to do nowadays, she was so happy that day he had loved taking her to the garden.

They packed the four by four up and headed back to Kingsport, but by the time they arrived Anne looked not only pale but green, she had been sick twice coming up the freeway Gilbert having to make emergency stops on the side of the road.

He took a heavy sigh filling the kettle with water then sharing some of that water with the tea maker. He took a sigh as his phone played the ringtone saying he got an e-mail, he looked at it and saw it was from school. He read the brief then looked at the timetable. He took a heavy sigh and tried to focus on the positive.

There in front of him was the rota's for going into the hospital for the first time. They were observing only but still, it was a warm up for the following year. He looked down at his phone again with a deep sigh.

Three weeks in emergency medicine, first thing. Well this one was a tough one and he knew it, this one was not a nine till five, he would history take, , coming up with care plans.

Immediately after that he would be in Family Medicine for six weeks then after that six weeks in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, then the big one Internal medicine, that one incorporated the objectives of general internal medicine as well as the specialities of internal medicine. Four weeks in general medicine, four weeks in a ward-based medicine speciality, two weeks in a clinic-based speciality and two weeks in geriatric medicine.

He took a deep breath trying to concentrate on the e-mail but let go of the breath putting his phone in his pocket as the kettle boiled, there was a knock on the door. He looked up and walked over to the door to find Cornelia standing with key in hand.

"Your key Doctor." She said with a grin.

He smiled kindly "Thank you, I take it, she didn't use it." Cornelia shrugged to him "it was a long shot." He admitted.

"It was, but worth the doing." Cornelia admitted. "I'm just sorry she didn't take it."

"Well, leaving an abusive partner can be intimidating." He said quietly.

"We don't know tha..." she start but with a shot look from Gilbert, she knew he knew the truth of the situation. "I hate this unspoken knowledge stuff." He admitted.

"Me too." Cornelia admitted.

"So," he said trying to change the subject, "Anne tells me there's a girl."

"Did Anne also say it was casual?" Cornelia asked him.

"She did." Gilbert admitted "though I think she was kind of hoping it wouldn't be, that true love could find a way."

Cornelia tutted "True love." She said rolling her eyes when she looked back to Gilbert and the shocked look on his face she almost laughed "Come now Doctor, you can't believe in true love?" she asked him.

"I believe in love, I believe love is truth," he said "and look at me and Anne." He said with a grin "I don't believe in the fairytales but I do believe we can make it work with someone, when we really make our minds and our hearts up to do it."

"I think there's a romantic side of you." She admitted with a smile.

"So not Abbey?" Gilbert asked.

"It was only fun." Cornelia repeated.

"Was?" he asked.

"Yes, was, as in over." She admitted. They remained silent for a moment before she started "I hope..." she shrugged and shook her head "I hope I can find someone who matches me like you and Anne match." She said with a smile. "Speaking of Queen Anne...?" she asked

"Oh, it was a tough ride home," he admitted "she's just lying down." He said with a grin "I was about to go and serve her tea." He added.

Cornelia grinned "I'll leave you to it then."

He shut the door with a goodbye took a deep breath, his mind coming back to his current predicament of his e-mail and his girlfriend, he'd make sure Anne was comfortable, then start to panic over his career choices.

He carefully took in the items and found Anne was sitting up.

"You need to be sleeping." He told her gently.

"I don't feel tired, or I can't sleep." She told him "I'm not sure which."

"Goes to show you need the rest." He said sitting on the bed with her "In the meantime, you can always keep me company." He said with a smile to her. She smiled and hugged into him when he told her "I received my first rota for observation." He said to her trying to sound light about it.

Anne looked up at him with a smile "You're scared." She said with s grin.

"Terrified!" he admitted with a smile.

Anne nodded and kissed into his neck for a moment before settling right next to it. "You don't need to take care of me you know." She said to him gently. "If you should be concentrating on school."

"No." He said shaking his head "I promised myself these holidays and just because we came back it doesn't mean I need to snap to it." He said to her.

"You need..." she started.

"I _need_ to take care of you." He whispered to her "You're more important then medical school."

"Gil!" She exclaimed in surprise when he kissed her gently.

She smiled softly and asked "aren't you scared? You could catch whatever I have."

He shrugged and said "Worth it." He grinned.

* * *

"At least you didn't mess up on rounds." Josh sulked as they stood in the elevator going up to the apartment.

"It could be worse." Gilbert said with a grin "at least you gave an answer..." Gilbert started.

"The wrong one." Josh muttered.

"At least it was an answer, it's better then Murray when he froze." Gilbert said giving the best impression of Murray he could.

Josh chuckled and shrugged "I just, I should have known, or realised, or known the answer." He said "I hate seeming the village idiot, the fool."

Gilbert's bottom lip protruded and he shrugged "You know Shakespeare in King Lear, uses the character named 'the fool' to speak out, to say all the things the audience, the other characters were thinking but its never said, a sort of mouthpiece of reason in Lear's madness, he's considered by most as Lear's protector after Cordelia is banished."

"And now my friendly knave I thank thee." Josh said with a grin to his friend which made Gilbert laugh as the doors opened to the apartment.

They looked in and from the doors they saw Anne was asleep on the sofa.

Josh looked at her concerned then to Gilbert.

"She's been tired of late." Gilbert said to Josh, "I said she should slow down, I don't know if she has." He said quietly.

"Its not like Anne to be tired." Josh said quietly. "How long has it been happening?"

Gilbert shrugged and whispered "Since she was on the antibiotics really." He said to Josh "Although I know it cleared up the infection." He said stroking Anne's head alerting her to his presence "Hello my Queen." He whispered to her "Its okay you don't have to wake up, but I'm going to take you to the bedroom okay?" he told her "Josh is here to go over some notes, I'd hate to disturb you." He told her.

He picked her up in his arms where she murmured "I'm just so tired!" she told him.

"I know love." Josh heard Gilbert tell her. He smiled at the intimacy they seemed to have so naturally. He wandered to the book shelf looking at the picture of them together in the photo frame. "Sorry about that." Gilbert said coming back into the living room area.

"It's okay really." Josh said with a smile. "Wish her well for me." He said to Gilbert.

* * *

"Hey beautiful." He said leaning over the sofa and kissing her on her forehead a couple of weeks later, "Are you feeling any better?" he asked her.

"No." She said cradling the hot water bottle to her stomach again. "Are you sure a bacterial infection couldn't travel down to my tummy?" she asked him.

"About that." He said to her practically. "Can you tell me what you remember of New Years Eve?" he asked her.

"I was feeling better it was a week after I finished my antibiotics, we went to Charlie's for his New Years Eve Party, it was fun, we walked home, rather tipsy." She said with a grin.

"We were." He said with a grin on his face, "Do you remember what we did? Down on the Millers Bench at Barry's Bond?" he asked.

"Vividly." She said to him which made them both smile at the memory.

"Did you know that Antibiotics can affect the effectiveness of the pill?" he told her.

"Yes." She confirmed "The doctor told us to use a condom for the duration and a week afterwards, which we did." She confirmed.

"Just." He confirmed, "We weren't exactly equipped for it down by Barry Pond." He reminded her.

"But that was a week after." She said.

"I know, but..." he said pulling out a pregnancy test from his bag, "I figured, just in case?" he asked her with a shrug.

She looked a little shocked at the box then back at Gilbert her hand subconsciously moving to her stomach a little smile playing at her lips "You think I could be pregnant?" she asked him, to which she received a nod from him a little smile playing on his lips "I-I, Um, can I-, will that be accurate this early on?" she asked Gilbert.

"Most doctors recommend waiting until after missing the first period." He said looking to her with the smile still playing at his lips "I know its not as easy to tell on the pill." He said to her "but all the same," he continued "Its been almost a month, this is well clear of that time restraint."

"Can I take it now?" she asked him.

He smiled that she had defaulted to asking him the questions, a Anne of clearer thinking would be reading the box! "HCG is usually found in higher concentrations on the first trip in the morning, but it is detectable any time of day." He told her practically. "Plus there are two tests in that box, if we get a negative now we could always try again in the morning."

"Okay." She said nodding her head "Okay." She repeating sitting up the box still in hand and she moved towards the bathroom. "Okay, I can do this." She said nodding her head she reached the door then turned and looked at Gilbert "I don't think I can do this." She told him her body physically shaking.

He grinned moving over to her and whispered "But you could be pregnant!" he said with a smile on his face.

"Why are you smiling?" she asked seriously. "Do you know what this means?!" she asked panicked coming back to the sofa and standing behind him.

"That us Blythe's are made of tougher stuff then birth control pills?" he asked her to which he received a playful slap on the arm.

"But what about school!? What about medical school! What about studying and how are we going to afford..." she started but was cut off by a soft set of lips pressing into hers.

He pulled back looking onto her eyes and whispered "We'll manage." He told her "We'll do better then that, we'll thrive like we always do!"

"You aren't scared by the thought are you?" she asked to, to which he only chuckled and swept his hand along her stomach.

"I would have got Anne Shirley pregnant!" he exclaimed quietly his eyes dancing he whispered "Do you know how many fantasies the act which created the baby went through a seventeen year old's mind." He said to her and with a playful eyebrow be assured her "and trust me he knew that could be one of the consequences and it did not turn him off at all!" he told her.

She chuckled before she asked "Really?"

"Oh yeah!" he told her "Getting you pregnant is proof that I got lucky!" he chuckled which made Anne laugh in return.

"You horny little...!" she started but got cut off again by his lips. She chuckled as they parted and asked him to join her in the bathroom.

He nodded saying "Together is always better."

* * *

"It says two minutes on the box." He said as she put the pregnancy test flat on the sink he set off the timer on his phone as she sat next to him on the floor.

"If I am pregnant," Anne started "What would you like first? A girl or a boy?" she asked him.

"Girl." He said straight away.

"Really?" She asked him surprised, then with a chuckled said "but you're a boy, don't you want a son first?" she asked.

"Na." He said with a shrug, "I want a little girl to wrap me round her little finger." He said

"Don't you want a boy to... I don't know play football with?" she asked him.

"I can play football with a girl as well as I can a boy." He said to Anne with a grin when she laughed. "I don't know, A girl, red hair.." he trailed with a smile and a gentle tug of her hair. "Like her mommy." He said with a smile to her.

"No!" Anne objected, "I can not curse another child with this hair!" she exclaimed.

"But its beautiful!" he exclaimed seriously. "Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes, red hair and your gorgeous, beautiful eyes." He said his eyes closing his lips upturned he head resting on the wall behind him "Your perfect nose, Your attitude I could never be happy if my girls were submissive, your imagination to get them through this world."

"She must get something from you." Anne said her features softening reflecting again just how much Gilbert loved her.

"No, you're perfect." He said in a reverent whisper.

She smiled softly sitting in silence for a moment in awe of the man in front of her, her heart really had made a wonderful choice all those years ago "perhaps your ability to love so unselfishly and forgive so willingly." She finally said just before Gilbert's phone alarm went off his eyes snapped open pulling the alarm across the screen to stop it. "Its time." She said to him, she went up on her knees and reached across the sink and she picked up the pregnancy test, her eyes settling on two blue lines in the window. Words couldn't escape her mouth she was so astonished! It was a few seconds later when Gilbert came up on his knees behind her to look at the result a loud ecstatic yell from his mouth in the positive confirmed she wasn't seeing things.

It was then in one sweep he came up off his knees and she was in his arms being carried around the apartment "I knew it, I knew it Anne-Girl!" he exclaimed in joy. "Oh my god, You're pregnant!" he said spinning her around bringing her legs to the floor once they were in front of the window "I-I'm, I'm going to be a daddy!" he said his breath sounding as though it was only just catching his hands slipping down to her still flat stomach he knelt in front of her and whispered into her stomach "Our baby." He whispered to her stomach. "Ours." He repeated as if it made it real, She smiled down watching his reaction.

It wasn't the perfect timing, or the perfect situation, but this was perfect.

"Hello baby," he whispered kissing Anne's stomach which sent butterflies all up her. "I'm daddy, though you probably already know me, don't you?" he asked her. "Way to go kid!" he said a smile spreading across his face. "I love you." He whispered again to the stomach which made Anne's heart melt into a puddle as his hands reached around her and hugged into her stomach whispering sweet nothings to the baby. He suddenly let go as if afraid of what he just did to her. "Sorry." He said softly.

"Don't be." She told him. "I want you to be close to the baby."

He smiled then pressed his lips to her stomach before he started singing to it "I've got sunshine on a cloudy day..."

Anne laughed "Gilbert!" she exclaimed.

"When its cold outside...I've got the month of May."

"what if its..."

"Well!" He cut across singing still "I guess you say, what can make me feel this way?!

"its a boy?" Anne finished

"My Girl! My Girl My girl! Talk about my girl!"

Anne smiled looking at him her eyes twinkling at the sight.

He looked up at her and whispered "Are you happy?" he asked her.

She chuckled and whispered "Course I am." She admitted. "Just a little struck!" she added

He stood back up in front of her and kissed her about her lips and face. "I love you Anne." He whispered gently caressing her cheeks with his hands lightly. "I can't believe this is happening!" he exclaimed softly.

"I don't think I've ever seen you this happy." She said to him.

"You have, twice." He told her gently "the day we got together and the day _we got together_." He said with a twinkle in his eye. With it he suddenly dropped down on one knee and held onto her hand "Marry me?" he asked her.

Anne's jaw dropped as she looked down to him in disbelief. "Gil..." she whispered before she looked again at his face, it didn't look like she imagined it would when he asked "Why?" she asked.

"Why?" he echoed

"Yes why, why do you want to marry me?" she asked him a bit more clearly.

"Be-because, You're pregnant, you're carrying my child, you're here and I'm here and we should be a family we should be married." He said shifting on his knee.

Anne took a quick deep breath closing her eyes for a moment before she pulled him up so he was standing next to her, she let his arms envelop her. "I don't want you to misunderstand this Gilbert so please listen." She told him before she sat them both down on the sofa. "I love you, I love you more then I thought I could love anyone, you have supported me and been my lifeline since the day I met you, I know you understand this because I know I'm yours as well," she said to him, to which she got a quick nod from him "And I want to marry you one day." She told him straight. "So ask me again one day, maybe then it will be yes." She told him.

"You're saying no?" he asked her looking disappointed.

"You're asking me out of a sense of honour and that is a _good_ thing. _Believe_ me." She said hugging into him. "But love, when you propose, it should be about _us_."

"But this is about..." he started.

"It was about the baby." She told him softly. "And its good that you love the baby so much." She assured him "When I say yes, I'll say it because you asked because you loved me, not because of one night under the stars where my pill wasn't 100% effective." She said with a smile to him. They sat in silence for a moment before she whispered to him "You don't regret making the baby, do you?" she asked him.

"Never." He whispered back their lips pressing against each other for a moment one hand coming down and holding her stomach, he pulled back with a smile on his face "a perfect mix of me and you." He whispered. "I do so love you Anne." He told her. "I swear, I'm going to be the best daddy in the world!"

Anne chuckled softly. "I know you will be."

"We need to celebrate!" he exclaimed happily.

"Gil come on what are we going to do? Go for a drink?" she asked him.

"Is it too early for cravings?" he asked her after a moments thought.

"Cravings?" she asked him.

"Anything, anything you want?" he asked her.

She thought for a moment then shrugged "I don't know if its a craving exactly..." she trailed thoughtfully.

"Anne, anything!" he almost pleaded.

"Doughnuts." She said quietly.

"Doughnuts?" he asked. "Okay, okay." He crossing the room with her taking their jackets off the coat hanger. "Krispy Kreme?" he asked her.

"Yes, please." She softly. Gilbert pressed the button for the lift. "I can't decide Caramel Kreme crunch, or cinnamon apple filled?" she said wondering.

He smiled at her and told her "You can have both." He said with a grin. "Mix them together if you like, you can do all sorts of disgusting things now you're pregnant, no one will batter an eyelid!" before a wicked smile appeared on his lips and his rendition of 'my girl' continued.

* * *

Gilbert woke early the next morning, upon finding Anne asleep on her back he slid close to her side and careful not to wake her tracked his fingers across her stomach his lips upturned in a sweet smile, he was imagining what the baby was like, or at least would be like. He imagined holding a baby, looking up at him would be a pair a big grey eyes staring into his soul. This baby knew him already, they had a hold on his heart and knew it. The baby looked at him, with glowing eyes and a charming smile. He couldn't take his eyes off the babe as he held it in his arms and a feeling of pride and love washed over him closely followed by what he used to believe was so primal he barely believed he could feel it himself. Protectiveness.

He curled up next to Anne and started whispering to the baby again. It wasn't about anything in particular, nothing important, and as he spoke Anne woke gently.

"Do you think it understands?" she asked him.

"Not yet." He said honestly "but one day she'll react, she'll recognise a sound a rhythm a pitch something about a voice, its how she recognises you, you know?" he asked her "its so much closer with you because she hears everything you do and say and sing, but she also feels the difference in your body, its what helps her learn, about basic emotions, and how when she's born she recognises not only your scent but your voice, your heartbeat, she knows it from the womb and it'll help her relax." He continued "You know there's research which confirms that babies recognises familiar voices even classical music where if you play a simple melody to the baby before they are born they recognise it after birth." He told the bump.

"And you want the baby to recognise you?" Anne asked him. He nodded, smiled then started to sing 'My Girl' again.


	62. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 26

**Hi everyone!**

 **I love that we all love how excited our boy Gilbert is over the baby. it just feels right for him to be excited for Anne to be excited for them to have the excitement!**

 **I can't say at this point if I stick as close as I have been to canon on it or not, but what I can say is that it certainly has an impact on their lives! You'll all see and I hope you all see why I do what I do. It both is a give away and not I know!**

 **I love you all for your kind words even one or two new people which have been brand new in saying hello. I love you all so much thank you!**

 **Carrots x**

* * *

"Owen!" Anne said opening the door with a smile on her face.

"Hey Anne." He said casually. "Do you have the notes for Foster's lecture, I made notes but I can't for the life of me read my own writing."

Anne laughed and welcomed him in. "Sure." She agreed.

"Are you starting to feeling better now?" He asked her.

Anne rolled her eyes unseen to him, she wasn't out of the first trimester yet, they had chosen to keep it quiet, all anyone knew was that Anne hadn't been well all through the Christmas period, and was slowly getting better and to Anne's credit (and often Gilbert's dismay he wanted to keep her wrapped up in cotton wool!) She was looking forward to the twelve week mark, that was the week they would get to see their baby for the first time. "I'm fine." She told him. "I have the notes just over here." She said taking him over to the bookshelf, she looked over at him as he seemed to be pacing somewhat nervously. "Are you okay Owen?" she asked him.

"Me?" he asked jumping "yeah sure you know..." he said looking around "Is um, Gilbert here?" he asked nervously.

"No." Anne answered confused by his behaviour.

"Good." Owen said his head nodding. "Good."

"Owen?" she asked confused.

" _I wanted to see you alone_ , Anne. _There is something I must tell somebody, or I think it will drive me mad. I've been trying for_ months _to look it in the face—and I can't. I know I can trust you—and, besides, you will understand. A woman with eyes like yours always understands. You are one of the folks people instinctively tell things to._ Anne _, I love Leslie. LOVE her! That seems too weak a word!"_

 _His voice suddenly broke with the suppressed passion of his utterance_ and looked at him a little shocked by his admittance though she had guessed it a while ago.

 _"Does Leslie know this,_ Owen?" she asked quietly.

 _"No—no,—unless she has guessed it. You surely don't think I'd be cad and scoundrel enough to tell her_ , Anne. _I couldn't help loving her—that's all—and my misery is greater than I can bear."_

Anne's lips upturned as he sat on the sofa she sat in the cuddle chair opposite him. "A cad and a scoundrel?" she questioned with a grin.

"You can't pretend I am anything but!" he exclaimed.

"Why did you not want Gilbert here?" she asked him.

Owen took a heavy sigh "He's so morally right!" Owen exclaimed "where you are too, you know what's right, I feel you know, I can feel..." he sighed.

They sat in silence for a moment before Anne's hand when to her bare feet she looked away and said quietly _"But she is not free, Owen."_

 _"I know!"_ Owen exclaimed quietly.

" _So the only thing you can do_ is to not see her and _leave her to her own life_."

"I-I can't." He broke his head going into his lap. "I could love her so much more, so much better then-"

"Owen you can't say that." She whispered.

"But I..." He started.

"Owen." She said quietly to him.

They both sat in silence for a few minutes before he broke the silence "I know." He sounded so ashamed of himself.

"And that's why you're no scoundrel nor cad." Anne said quietly. "You know she is someone else's wife and you won't act on it."

"Never!" he exclaimed, "I just, I needed to get it out!" he told her.

"I knew." She told him.

"You did?" he asked Anne looking up at her, "D-do you think Leslie does?" he asked.

"I honestly can't tell with her." Anne admitted. "I get such mixed signals from her I never know..." Anne trailed. She finally looked up and asked him "What will you do?" she asked him.

He took a sigh "I want to still be there for her, I want to be her friend, she needs friends she needs someone on her side, Anne like us, she needs us."

"Unrequited love?" She asked sadly "Is that really the role you're going to settle into?"

He swallowed not answering before Anne came over to his side wrapped her arms around him and gave him the cuddle he so desperately needed.

* * *

"How is Owen?" Gilbert asked her that night, Owen had still been in the apartment when he had returned from medical school that evening, he had found them studying over some modern literature criteria together, it had been nothing unusual, and truth be told Anne had long passed him in a literacy sense, Owen at least could keep up with her now, he could claim relative illiteracy when he struggled to keep up with Anne and his medical knowledge.

"He's fine, though the finer details of 'new weird' is a bit lost on him." Anne chuckled.

"Ah!" Gilbert exclaimed happily "my girl outshining him?" he said with a grin as Anne crawled into bed with him.

"Naturally." She replied wryly which made him chuckle.

There was a silence as Gilbert typed on his laptop for a few moments, Anne was settling beside him, tired from the day, she was a little surprised when Gilbert asked her "He's in love with Leslie isn't he?"

Anne's eye cracked open as she looked up at him "What makes you say that?"

Gilbert gave a heavy sigh before he whispered "He looks at her like I look at you."

Anne lay quietly for a moment before she asked him "Would it be _so_ bad if he did?" she asked him.

"She's married." Gilbert told her plainly, before the lay quiet for a few more seconds before he took a deep sigh.

"But..." Anne probed him.

Gilbert swallowed before he said "I can't help but think of the way I felt for you when you were with Roy." He said quietly "I know you weren't married but for all intentions and purposes you were with someone else, I never acted on my feelings but..." he swallowed again "and I know it was different I knew you before Roy and we had a romantic history but you were still someone elses." He took a deep breath and whispered "I could control my actions but I couldn't help the way I _felt_." He said meaningfully.

Anne slid closer to him and whispered to him "So you do understand?" she questioned "if he did love her?" she wrapped one arm over his stomach "You put out this imagine of being so practical," she said with a wicked grin "but you're a romantic at heart."

He grinned and whispered to her "I thought I've told you before never to let on."

Anne chuckled and whispered "I would never do such a thing!" she exclaimed playfully. "So..." she said innocently reaching below his waist her hand cupping him which made him gasp in delight his head momentarily threw back his eyes closing he felt himself rise "I guess it'll just have to be our secret." He nodded forward his eyes opening looking at the flirty smile plastered on Anne's face as her hand remained where it was her eyes shut and she cuddled into him for the night.

* * *

"Are you excited?" Anne asked Gilbert as she lay on the bed for the scan.

"Of course I am." Gilbert said with a smile to her "I kill two birds with one stone, I have to witness 12 pregnancy scans so this counts as one." He said cheerfully.

"Glad I could be of assistance." Anne said rolling her eyes.

"Plus I don't have to make the time up, anyone else would be told to make up the half an hour but because I'm technically working..." to which Anne rolled her eyes "and I get to see my baby for the first time." He said sentimentally.

"Maybe you'd like to assist Gilbert." The midwife said with the ultrasound machine in hand, "tell me the size, the measurements you see, I can double check them all make sure they are right, I normally do this alone."

He looked to Anne with an excited eye to which she rolled her eyes and said "ever the doctor aren't you?" she grinned.

"Thank you!" he exclaimed jumping up excited. "I can't wait to see my girl!"

The midwife looked to Gilbert for a moment before Anne explained "he's insisting its a girl, though he has no proof." She said with a smile. "Can you tell this early on?" Anne asked Gilbert.

"Not on an ultrasound no." He admitted "The penis or vulva actually look similar until about 14 weeks."

"Not on an ultrasound?" Anne asked.

"The blood test for Down syndrome and a few other chromosomal conditions, It also looks for pieces of the male sex chromosome in the expectant mother's blood to see if she's carrying a boy or a girl." The midwife said "You chose not to have that test?" she asked them.

"We know there would be some emotional adjustment, or physical one, mental ones, if the baby did have down syndrome, but ultimately, we're in the happy positions where it wouldn't matter, so why risk it?" Anne said with a smile to Gilbert.

She smiled and reassured Anne of the gel going on her stomach and where the ultrasound would measure.

The Gel on, the scanner went on her stomach Gilbert watched and smiled at the very small item showing. "There!" he said pointing at it, "can you see, that little thing just there Anne?" he asked her with a smile. The midwife then zoomed in on it and she nodded.

"Its should be the size of a lime." She said looking at the scan.

"Is it alright?" Anne asked concerned.

The midwife smiled and said "well lets see." She said.

"There, that's it heartbeat look Anne!" Gilbert said with a smile pointing at a tiny flicker on the screen "Can you see?"

Anne looked at the screen and smiled nodded "Oh my god!" she exclaimed "that's our baby!" she exclaimed tears coming to her eyes. "Gil look!" she exclaimed "Look what we did!"

He smiled nodding he kissed into her hair. "A miracle!" he whispered as they looked at its heartbeating. "It has a strong heartbeat!" he laughed.

"Yeah?" Anne asked.

"Oh yeah!" Gilbert confirmed.

The midwife smiled and said "We need to take the measurements Miss Shirley if that's okay?" she asked Anne to which Anne nodded.

Gilbert read out the measurements and explained to Anne what each measurement meant, Anne held her tongue the best she could. She was dying to know if the baby was normal so she was practically bursting at the end "Is it okay?" she asked.

Gilbert looked at the final measurements and looked up at the midwife who looked at it "Are you sure on the dates?" she asked them.

"Absolutely." Gilbert said with a nod knowing what the midwife was thinking "Its this date."

"Is-Is everything okay?" Anne asked at the look on the midwife's face.

"Everything is fine." The midwife confirmed. "You can see the placenta right here, you can see DS getting to the baby, just here, see?" she confirmed pointing to it on the ultrasound, they all laughed at the foetal movement at the ultrasound scanner pressing, its tiny leg kicking at it.

"Oh I felt that!" Anne gasped. "I think." She said with a smile to Gilbert.

"You may have done!" The midwife laughed, " some people think its imagined this early on, I think its the mothers instincts. See fine." She said "its just the baby is a little small for its age." The midwife confirmed.

"Its not so small that you're worried though?" Gilbert asked the midwife.

"No," the midwife confirmed "some babies are small, some are big, Just to put it in some perspective for you, your baby is about the size of a plum where we'd expect a lime, but different babies grow at different rates, we'll just keep an eye on it on the next scan at sixteen weeks." She looked again at the young couple "You should think of being a midwife Mr Blythe." She said with a smile to him "Now do you want pictures of the scan?"


	63. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 27

Right so I noticed something after I published which I had written in last week which I didn't realise was in there (it was from an earlier edition of the chapter) its now removed and makes sense of this.

I love this chapter, I tried to put in so many things which I remember from my own pregnancies, wow the feels!

Thank you all for your comments, I fear I can not answer them right now! I'm sorry, and I'm sorry for the sporadic uploads, my OH has been very ill but is now on _**very**_ strong antibiotics and he's gradually getting better, but of course having a sick OH is worse then sick kids, and of course they've been on their summer holidays over here in the UK. Crazy goings on! Hopefully the beginning of school will bring some normality back into the world!

Love to you all

Carrots x

* * *

"Do you think they'll be excited?" Anne asked Gilbert as she put the finishing touches to the flowers on the dining room table.

"Excited?" Gilbert replied incredulously "You do remember this is my mother, we're talking about?" he asked her. "The women who the day she felt she could encouraged us... no indeed offered to buy the condoms for us."

Anne laughed and added "the wrong way about getting grandbabies."

"That's what I said." He said with a grin where in one swoop he glided up playfully held Anne around her stomach his hand over it protectively "They will adore the fact you are pregnant." He told her as she giggled "As I do." He said his smile wide again.

"I don't think anyone could be as excited as you are love." She whispered over the shoulder he was kissing.

"How am I meant to feel?" he asked her gently "I now have two Shirley girls to take care of."

Anne turned in his arms and looked at him seriously "What are you talking about?" she asked him. "This baby is a Blythe."

He looked to her and swallowed before he said "I just, I assumed that you'd want her to have your last name."

Anne smiled and looked into his eyes "She's a Blythe."

Gilbert's lips upturned for a moment before he said "How about Blythe-Shirley then?" he asked her.

"How about..." she said flirting with him her arms going around his neck "...you don't undermine just how much meaning is in a name," she said.

Gilbert looked into her eyes "its not very feminist of you." He remarked with a mischievous grin.

"Really?" she asked him "I was under the impression that feminism allowed me the choice." His lips upturned his eyes lit up as he looked deeper into hers. "This is my choice, everything all of it, is my choice, and I will always choose you." She brought his hands down to her stomach and she whispered "Our Baby, together, our baby Blythe." She told him softly.

His knees bent his lips to her stomach "Did you hear that baby girl?" he asked her stomach. "Our Baby girl Blythe." He whispered.

She smiled looking down at him, before there was a knock on the door. His head looked up to her and she asked him "Are you ready?"

He stood up and kissed her square on the lips for a moment "Ready." He confirmed, and with it he took her by the hand walked across the room and with his free hand opened the door.

"Gilbert!" Mrs Blythe exclaimed "Oh honey!" she said planting herself in a hug. "Oh look at you!" she told him "Are you eating properly?" she asked him, "Not four months back and you look..."

"I look fine mom." He said with a kiss to his mother's cheek.

"Growing more like a man every day." His dad said. "Leave him be." He said going past them with a grin to his son.

Marilla smiled and looked to Anne, "I take it you're feeling better now?" she asked Anne concerned.

"Much better," Anne confirmed with a hug to her guardian. "How are the twins and Mrs Lynde?"

"Not much has changed in the three days since you last spoke to Davy." Marilla confirmed as they entered the apartment.

"Welcome to our little pad." Gilbert said with a grin at the look on their faces. "Let me show you where you'll be staying." Gilbert said with a smile he took his parents to the main bedroom.

"Now are you sure you and Anne will be okay in the living room?" His mother asked him.

"We'll be fine." Gilbert confirmed. "The sofa is a really comfortable sofa bed designed for multilabel usages." He confirmed.

They entered the bedroom where he smiled at their entering "Clean sheets," his mother said with a grin "my my we are getting the royal treatment."

Gilbert chuckled "Anne's doing," he informed them, "not that I would see you in our bedsheets." He carried on as they looked around the room. "Anne says 'one can dream so much better in a room where there are pretty things.'," he quoted her.

"I hope she keeps it pretty for you then." Mrs Blythe said with a smile.

"Of course," he confirmed "she's in it." He said with a cheeky grin, the sentiment and the cheek made them smile "I'll let you get settled in." He said to them as he left the room, at the same time Anne was exiting the spare bedroom where Marilla was staying.

Anne smiled to Gilbert as they crossed the room and sat on the cuddle chair together. Gilbert under Anne's legs him tucked into her as his arms went around her his hand resting on her stomach.

"Hey, we might not be able to do this soon?" she whispered with a smile to him.

"Cuddle?" he asked her, "I hope we'll always do that Anne."

"I mean snuggle on here, it'll get rather cosy with the three of us." She whispered.

"Oh!" he said with a grin and a chuckle.

"I'll get fat." She said to him.

"No!" He told her softly but sternly "never fat, not my Anne-Girl." He whispered. "Pregnant yes, not fat."

She smiled and whispered "Do you think they can see?" she asked him, referring to her now 14 week bump.

He looked down to the very slightly rounded stomach his hand rested on. "Well I can tell, but I see you naked all the time." He flirted with a satisfied look on his face.

"Oh _all_ the time?!" she flirted.

"I wish." He murmured in her ear softly with a fixed and hungry gaze.

She looked at him softly and kissed his cheek lovingly.

"As for your tummy you know no one else has noticed it." He reminded her " _I_ know, but I _know_ you."

"But my clothes are going to get really tight very soon!" she whispered happily.

"I know love." He told her "we can get you some of those pregnancy clothes if you like?" he asked her.

Anne smiled "maybe, not _yet_."

* * *

"So," Mrs Blythe said as they sat around the dinner table, Anne had cooked a successful dinner they had chatted and caught up on current events, Mr Blythe had returned to the car for yet another care package his wife had made the pair before they had sat down to dinner, among which was some apple preserves which Gilbert had quickly popped in the oven with some oats for a dessert. "Is there any reason you have us all here?" she asked them curiously. "You've never asked us down before."

Anne smiled blushing into her food while Gilbert cleared his throat a smile appearing on his lips. "So subtlety put mother." He said with a grin.

"Well its just you've been down here for two and a half years, and only now are you asking us to come." Mrs Blythe grinned.

"Its not that we didn't want you to come but..." Anne started quietly, the three guardians all looking up suddenly at her making her feel a little self conscious. "Oh God..." she whispered.

"We have some news." Gilbert said with a grin as they all turned to look at him. "You're right." He told Anne, "it is intimidating." Which made her chuckle. "Okay here I go." He continued "Mom Dad, Marilla, Anne's pregnant."

A silence hit the room as the three froze for a moment before Mrs Blythe's knife and fork clattered on her plate her the sound of her chair being pushed back along with a shriek of pleasure "Oh Anne!" she exclaimed Anne standing to meet her Mrs Blythe hugging the girl "Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed "Oh my boy!" she exclaimed dragging him up by his collar wrapping her free arm around him. "Oh my baby boy!" she cried as tears pooled in her eyes. "Oh!" she exclaimed pulling back. "I'm so happy!" she exclaimed.

"You don't say!" Gilbert exclaimed.

"Do you know what it is, a girl or a boy? Is it too soon to be able to tell?" she asked them.

"Its a gir..." Gilbert started.

"Its too soon!" Anne cut across half glaring at him "though Gilbert is convinced its a girl."

"I'm telling you!" he told them.

"How far along are you?" Marilla asked Anne.

"Fourteen weeks, so it will only be another couple of weeks before our next scan, they should be able to tell at that scan." Anne told her. "Would you like to see the pictures of the ultrasound, after dinner?" she asked them.

John smiled at the calculation and while the women were clucking around Anne whispered to Gilbert "Fourteen weeks huh?" he asked him, "Around New Years?" he said with a grin to his son.

"Yeah, we know when, it had to be," he said with a smile,

John broke into an identical smile to his son "Congratulations pappy." He said to Gilbert.

Gilbert chuckled and smiled at his father. "Thanks." He said. "I couldn't be happier." He admitted. "Grandpa." He added with a grin to his father.

* * *

Marilla and Anne took the opportunity to go for a walk down to the park.

"You seem content Anne," Marilla said to her softly. "It suits you."

Anne smiled her hand over her barely there baby bump. "It's unexpected, but... Oh Marilla!" Anne exclaimed, "its the strangest and most wonderful feeling I've ever experienced!" she told her before her smile faded "Aren't you sad, you never had children?" she asked her guardian.

Marilla looked at her seriously for a moment before she asked "I know I'm not overly sentimental, that I sometimes, pretend to be more detached then I am." She said to her "but don't you think I take the same pleasure a mother would in seeing you grow? And learn? Become independent from me, its a oxymoronic position to be in, a mother, you know you're successful when you've prepared them to live without you."

"Ohhh!" Anne said with a shiver "I don't think I'll ever be ready for that!" she exclaimed.

Marilla smiled "but look at you, look at you and Gilbert, the life you are building together."

Anne stayed quiet for a moment before she said "I want you to know, how grateful I am for you and Matthew taking me in all those years ago." Anne told her to which Marilla started to shake her head "I know it was a boy you were after, a boy to pass the farm into to carry on the Green Gables legacy."

"We only ever wanted you, we needed you." Marilla told her sternly. "We didn't need someone to take over the farm, we needed _joy_ in the home."

Anne smiled linking arms with the older lady "Well you always have Davy." Anne said with a smile playing at her lips.

"Oh there is no way we could have handled a Davy before an Anne." She told Anne which made Anne laugh, "but you know he's not so bad. He's turning out okay." Marilla told Anne, "thanks to your patience."

"No not just me..." Anne said quietly.

"But in part, and Gilbert." Marilla acknowledged

Anne smiled and then added as her smile broadened, "well Gilbert is going to make a wonderful daddy."

"He's excited." Marilla said with a smile. "It's nice to see, not many men show that side of them." She took a heavy sigh "You are careful, aren't you Anne, with the Blythe temperament, for all they seem as their names imply, they can plunge into a depression, that's quite dangerous."

"You mean like John did with you?" Anne asked her curiously.

 _"Rilla please, listen to reason..." he started._

 _"Reason?" Marilla practically accused him._

 _"My Aunt Mar-" he started._

 _"This isn't about her!" Marilla exclaimed to him._

 _He looked at her genuinely perplexed. "Not about her? Rilla, love, the things that she said..."_

 _"Were mean and nasty..." Marilla started_

 _"And had no truth to them." John ended._

 _"And?" Marilla asked him accusingly._

 _"And?" John reflected._

 _"Why did you not say it then?" Marilla almost growled she was so angry._

 _John swallowed and looked genuinely scared, "Now Rilla..." he started._

 _"This whole thing, us, we started on the fact that you hated bullies." Marilla confirmed with him._

 _"I do!" he confirmed_

 _"Then why would you not speak up for me to my biggest one?!" Marilla pleaded._

 _"Because she's family Mar!" he exclaimed looking into her eyes. They remained silent for a few seconds before she stood up suddenly._

 _"Rilla, wait!" he said to her "wait wait wait..." he said holding onto her by her wrist his eyes wide, looking terrified "please," he said to her quietly. "What can I do?" he asked her._

 _"You can go and stand up for me." Marilla told him._

 _He head shook before she ironically chuckled "well that sees to that now doesn't it?" Marilla told him her hand trying to shake free._

 _"Rilla wait!" he tried again._

 _"No!" she shouted. "You know I don't even care about me," she told him straight "but one day she will say it to a women who matters enough for you to say something!" she told him._

 _"Rilla, come on..." he tried "You know you're the only one for me." John pleaded again._

 _"No." Marilla choked. "No, I'm not, otherwise you'd see, you'd get it, I hope one day you will love someone enough to stand up for them." She said shrugging him away and despite his calls for her she didn't look back._

"After that, I didn't see him so much, I understand he had plunged into a depression of sorts, not many saw him at all, it wasn't until his father got ill, about 2 years before Gilbert was born he started being out and about, then when his father died when he fully took over the farm, by then he'd met his wife, I believe she was pregnant with Gilbert at the time." Marilla told Anne.

"How much time had passed?" Anne asked Marilla.

"From that argument to Gilbert being born?" Marilla asked. "Sixteen years."

Anne looked to her wide eyed and surprised "Oh Marilla!" she exclaimed "Oh that's tragical!" Anne sighed, "You know John stood up for you." Anne told her. "Well us actually, You me, Mrs Blythe, he did it all in one go."

Marilla looked to Anne surprised before Anne grinned "he said he could never regret you, anything about your relationship together," Anne said with a knowing grin.

"Oh?" Marilla said her cheeks flushing. "Well," she added "it was a long time ago."

Anne smiled softly "you know I believe, when we love someone, when we actually love them, no matter what happens love doesn't go away."

Marilla looked to Anne sharply "I hope you don't tell Gilbert that about Roy."

Anne shook her head "I did like Roy a great deal, but Gilbert knows I never loved Roy."

Marilla looked shocked again at Anne "But you were with him for two years!" Marilla exclaimed.

Anne shivered, "Oh don't remind me." She said lowly. "Stupid thing to do, especially considering..." Anne trailed looking down at the ground.

"How you felt about Gilbert?" Marilla looked to her with a knowing gaze.

"You knew too Marilla?" Anne asked with a smile.

"We all thought you did." Marilla told her.

"Oh I suppose its old news now but I did, my heart knew I loved him." Anne smiled more "I never comprehended that love could... that I could..." Anne sighed and shook her head "I'm sorry Marilla, I should be able to talk to you about it, its just..." Anne trailed.

"You do talk to Gilbert about it though, he knows all he needs to."

"He knew before we got together yeah." Anne confirmed. "And yes, it does occasionally come up, I don't want it to define me Marilla, rather the whole experience helped refine me, if that makes sense."

* * *

"Are you wanting to find out the sex of the baby?" the midwife asked as Anne made herself comfortable on the examination bed.

"Daddy doesn't believe he needs it." Anne said with a smile to Gilbert. "But yes, we would." She confirmed.

"Well I shall see what I can do." The midwife smiled "if they are in the cooperative mood." The midwife said, the gel going onto Anne's stomach.

Anne looked over at the monitor as the imagine of the baby came onto the screen.

"Is that her?" Anne asked.

"See I have you doing it now." Gilbert said with a smile.

"Forced habit." She said with a grin to him.

"That is." The midwife said with a smile. "That's your baby." She told them. "Lets get their measurements and then we can look for the sex." She confirmed.

Anne looked to Gilbert at every measurement watching the way he smiled at the screen with a look of awe on his face. Finally when the measurements were read he managed to whisper a "Wow." Before Anne asked him.

"Is the baby okay?" Anne asked.

"In your last scan they were measuring small, yes?" The midwife asked.

"That's right, by a couple of weeks." Gilbert confirmed.

"Well the bad news is that the baby is still measuring a little small, still by a couple of weeks but they are growing, the likelihood is, that the baby is just a small baby."

"So nothing to worry about?" Anne asked.

"We should set up another couple of appointments just to be sure the baby continues to grow, different babies grow at different rates." She said.

"So, its something to worry about?" Anne asked again coming up slightly.

"You shouldn't worry mummy." Gilbert said soothing her with a grin "You need not to get stressed, for our daughter."

The midwife smiled as she kept the scanner on Anne's stomach "Looks like daddy's instincts are right." She said with a smile which made both Anne and Gilbert's head whip up and look at the screen.

Gilbert smiled fully saying "That's my girl!" he proclaimed.

"You see there?" The midwife said "No Penis." She said.

Anne smiled fully and asked "are you sure?!" she exclaimed. "I'm having a girl!"

"I'd say 90% sure." The midwife confirmed "and we only say that to cover our backs!"

"Gil!" Anne exclaimed "Oh my god! I can't believe how right you were!" Anne smiled looking at the look on his face "Daddy's girl." Anne whispered to him to which their fingers intertwined from when their hands had been holding from the beginning of the appointment, and Gilbert's lips kissed into Anne's hair as he smiled with pride.

* * *

"There are ten thousand names in this book, how are we meant to pick just a handful?" Anne asked as they cuddled on the sofa that evening. Gilbert's back was on the sofa arm behind them Anne slipped up next to him her head on his chest listening to his heartbeat.

"Did you not have any favourite baby names as you were growing up?" Gilbert asked her. "I know Ruby had her baby names picked out since 4th grade."

"Really?" Anne asked.

"Mia and Oscar." Gilbert repeated back.

Anne chuckled and shrugged "I had names I liked of course." Anne admitted, "But they were mostly names for my window friends."

Gilbert looked to her a little shocked "Window friends?" he asked.

"I'd get lonely" She admitted "I supposed they were much like imaginary friends only they'd look like me but a more beautiful me, a less flawed me." She sighed "Katie and Violetta," she said "When I lived with The Thomas' they had a bookcase in their sitting room with glass doors. _There weren't any books in it; Mrs. Thomas kept her best china and her preserves there-when she had any preserves to keep. One of the doors was broken. Mr. Thomas smashed it one night when he was slightly intoxicated. But the other was whole and I used to pretend that my reflection in it was another little girl who lived in it. I called her Katie Maurice, and we were the best of friends. I used to talk to her by the hour, especially on Sunday, and tell her everything. Katie was the comfort and consolation of my life. We used to pretend that the bookcase was enchanted and that if I only knew the spell I could open the door and step right into the room where Katie Maurice lived, instead of into Mrs. Thomas' shelves of preserves and china. And then Katie Maurice would have taken me by the hand and led me out into a wonderful place, all flowers and sunshine and fairies, and we would have lived there happy for ever after_."

"I can't believe you've never told me this." He said quietly "Katie and Violetta were your friends?" he reiterated, to which she nodded.

"Then of course you have my Cordelia's and my Geraldine's names which I believed to be elegant and perfectly beautiful names, things I wish I was called instead of Anne." She said with a grin.

"I won't be having that." Gilbert said shaking his head. "I hope your name gives you some joy now?"

Anne chuckled playing with his rib cage for a moment before she said quietly "I'd want to name her something which meant something." She told him, "like your last name, Blythe, it means merry, happy carefree." She said with a smile. "I don't know, maybe something which means the same thing, which reflects what she makes us _feel_. Something which does her justice, I don't know, childish fantasy names hardly seems to cut it."

Gilbert nodded and said with a smile "Blythe Blythe." He said with a grin. "Bliss, Felicity, Beatrice," he suggested to which Anne looked to him amused, before he stopped and said softly "Joy." He said simply.

"Joy?" Anne asked.

"Yes." He said nodding. "Joyce, but Joy, its a classic which we both like, not overly common now adays which we both like, but its beautiful because it just, it describes exactly what she brings to us."

"Joy." She said with a smile. "Joyce Blythe." She repeated again her hands going to her stomach. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed "We have a name for our little lady!" she squealed.

He slid down the sofa coming in front of her laying his hands on her stomach. "My god Anne!" he exclaimed "I think other people will be able to tell soon." He told her.

"Really?!" she asked him excited "Oh I hope so!"

"Are you kidding?!" he exclaimed "you're growing a miracle in there!"


	64. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 28

Gilbert was tired after his time at school, it was only six o'clock the scheduling was hard and tiring, the back of his head rested on the wall behind him he closed his eyes tired, 'thank god its the weekend' He thought to himself, yet he knew all that lay ahead was more studying. The lift doors opened and the sight in front of him soon woke him.

Anne stood with her phone in hand clutching her stomach. He sharpish went to her side concerned immediately for her "Anne?" he asked.

"She's been active all day but, now I'm bleeding, then ten minutes ago..." she trailed in the pain coming from her still small stomach. "I was going to call you just now but..."

"Its okay." Gilbert said softly "Come on lets call the hospital ahead and lets get there now."

"Gil." She cried clutching his shirt "I'm going to loose her, aren't I?" she asked him.

He tried to stay calm for her sake he looked into her eyes as he reached for his phone, "Nothing is for certain yet," he told her softly. "if we're at the hospital you'll get the best kind of care."

"Gil.." she said still clutching him "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" she cried.

"You have _nothing_ to be sorry for." He told her. Before they headed back to the lift. "Hello." He said into the phone as he answered "I'm bringing in my girlfriend she's 21 weeks pregnant and is experiencing bleeding and stomach cramps." He said quietly.

"Gilbert is that you?" the voice said on the other side of the phone.

"Yes Doctor Brown." He said.

"We'll be ready." The voice said.

* * *

"I can't believe it!" Mrs Lynde exclaimed as Marilla ran up the stairs to pack a bag. "It seems only yesterday she was telling us they were expecting, and a late miscarriage at that."

"Gilbert said they got to hold her, she was alive at birth but far too small for the doctors to do anything even though they did try to intervene, far too small to even get a funeral, they got half an hour before the little lady passed away." Mrs Blythe said quietly her face grey. "But born a perfect little baby." She said quietly. "Gilbert said they took some pictures."

"How is he?" Mrs Lynde asked her.

"Trying to stay strong but I barely recognised his voice. He's had a hard time, after Joy passed away Anne tried to get up and that's when she haemorrhaged, he insisted on staying with Anne, he wouldn't leave her side, the doctors thank god knew him and let him stay."

"He must have been terrified, imagine the thought of losing your child and girlfriend all in one day!" Mrs Lynde exclaimed.

"It's killing him, seeing Anne like this, they aren't even home yet but I think they need all the love they can get around them right now."

"Good." Davy exclaimed coming in the kitchen where they had been talking "then you won't mind me coming."

"David Keith!" Mrs Lynde exclaimed "You can't be serious!"

"I am." He replied "dead serious." He told the older women.

"Davy..." Mrs Blythe started.

"But Anne is like a sister to me, Imagine if this had been Thea! None of you would batter an eyelid at me wanting to go!"

"There's only their spare room the stay in Davy." Mrs Blythe said sympathetically. "They have a pull out bed for one of us." She told him "I promise, I'll skype you and let you know they're okay?" Mrs Blythe compromised.

"But..." Davy started.

"And you have school." Mrs Lynde said sternly "Gilbert would _not_ want you missing school." With this Davy sat on the chair with a huff as Marilla entered the room.

"We should go." She said to Mrs Blythe.

* * *

 _"Poor, poor lamb! Her heart is broken,"_ said Cornelia observed as Anne visited the bathroom, Gilbert sat quietly in the corner not muttering a word.

 _"I ENVY Anne," said Leslie suddenly and fiercely,_

Mrs Blythe looked shocked at the girl "Her child died and she almost did, how is that an envious position?" she asked

" _I'd envy her even if she had died! She was a mother for one beautiful day. I'd gladly give my life for THAT!" Leslie said_ standing up starting to walk towards the balcony.

 _"I wouldn't talk like that, Leslie, dearie,"_ said Cornelia deprecatingly. She stuck between being afraid that the Mrs Blythe and Marilla would think Leslie quite terrible and trying not to sound too harsh to Leslie, who had seemly ignored her and headed out to the balcony. Owen looked at Cornelia then out to Leslie excusing himself politely promising to talk some sense into Leslie.

Cornelia looked as Anne came back out of the bathroom and sat beside Gilbert for a moment before she cuddled into him again, her face blank her eyes grey and tired.

"God knows what's best." Marilla said trying to help them.

"No!" Anne suddenly objected from the corner "I can't believe that!"

"Anne now hold on..." Marilla told her.

 _"It doesn't seem FAIR," said Anne rebelliously. "Babies are born and live where they are not wanted—where they will be neglected—where they will have no chance. I would have loved my baby so—and cared for it so tenderly—and tried to give her every chance for good. And yet I wasn't allowed to keep her._ " She said before she buried her head into Gilbert's chest "its not fair."

Marilla looked to Gilbert knowing if anyone could find her faith it was him, where he shook his head.

"I can't believe that a God who loved me, would take my baby from me, and I can't believe in a God who doesn't love me." She said.

Marilla looked sadly at her and said to her softly "Anne, I know that's how you're feeling right now but give it time, you'll see that out of trials come blessings."

"I don't want to give it time, I don't want to get better, I just want to be miserable." She said crying into Gilbert again.

"Come on Anne." Gilbert said to her softly "its getting late again, your body is still repairing itself, lets get you to bed."

She didn't object or fight him, but let him take her into the bedroom quietly letting her slip out of the crowd, Leslie and Owen came back in from the balcony.

"I'm going to see Leslie down the elevator, I don't think there's much we can do to help." Owen said to the remaining people.

"Thank you Mr Ford." Marilla said to him standing to see them out the door.

"No, please," he said to her softly "Owen please call me Owen, and you don't need to see us out. Anne and Gilbert have my number, please if I can help any further..." he said with a kind smile.

"We'll let you know." Mrs Blythe said kindly to the man "thank you."

Cornelia let out a sigh before she said to them "I've never seen Anne nor Gilbert like this." Then added thoughtfully "but then I suppose I've not known them all that long."

Mrs Blythe smiled at the girl "They both like you a great deal Cornelia, they've both talked about you."

"Oh?" Cornelia asked surprised.

"You're surprised?" Marilla asked her.

"Well, yes and no, I can be a little hard on the doctor, as he is a man, I'm surprised by that."

"Gilbert likes the challenge." Marilla said with a glance to Mrs Blythe who smiled back.

"Its a Blythe trait." Mrs Blythe added dryly before both Marilla and Mrs Blythe gave a chuckle.

"Anne said that, well they both did I suppose, that Gilbert likes to be challenged, I suppose that only gives me permission to still be hard on him." She said. "Not yet though." She added.

"You're a nanny?" Marilla asked her.

"Yes, that's right." She said with a nod. "Anne tells me you adopted her and two other children who are not your own, she talks very highly of you Marilla and you too Mrs Blythe, when she's not..."

"Don't fret too much Cornelia." Mrs Blythe said to her. "Everything will relate to their circumstances for a little while, the wounds of time heal slowly at first."

"In the meantime, might I suggest that someone stays with them, not all the time just enough of the time, when they are home alone together they have each other they have each other for that just, in the meantime."

"I agree." Mrs Blythe agreed.

"So say I." Cornelia agreed.

"Marilla?" Mrs Blythe asked her.

"Of course." She said quietly. "Its not Anne to dismiss, even God right now."

"I remember Gilbert having dismissed God when his father was ill too." Mrs Blythe comforted her. "Its what they need to feel at this moment Marilla." Mrs Blythe assured her.

"I find it amazing in this day and age they have a belief in God," Cornelia commented "of course each to their own, you must have taken them every Sunday." She said with a smile to the older ladies.

Gilbert then came out of the bedroom and wordlessly pulled his computer screen to him reading whatever was on it.

"What's that Gilbert?" His mother asked.

"My notes for a test I have in the morning." He said quietly.

"You're not thinking about going in are you?" Cornelia asked.

"I have to." He said quietly, again not looking up Cornelia looked to Mrs Blythe a look of concern on her face. Mrs Blythe shrugged and looked sadly at her son.

* * *

Two weeks later Anne sat anxiously in her first class after Joy. She felt empty, not quite with it yet, though Gilbert had said it might make her feel better going to class getting out of the apartment and being with a friend, who was currently sat beside her in the class in the form of Owen. Over the past couple of weeks Anne had spent very little time outside the bedroom, she had lay numb in the day while Gilbert had gone to medical school, though he (and Marilla and Mrs Blythe) had thoroughly spoilt her the rest of the time. When Anne had announced she was going back to college Marilla had excused herself back tot he island, Davy had been causing trouble for Mrs Lynde and she was on 'her last tether with him', Marilla had thought it prudent to go back. Anne had thanked her for coming, for remaining the two weeks where Mrs Blythe had made Marilla promise she would make sure John was eating something other then pudding out the pantry.

Anne wasn't sure but she was sure she could feel everyone's eyes on her.

"They're all wondering how I'm still on the course, aren't they?" Anne asked Owen.

"Let them wonder." Owen said to her honestly. "And dazzle them with your brains." He told her softly.

"To them, its just another day, another day one like another." She said her grey eyes staring at a far off point.

Professor Cooper entered the room and while it was quiet enough it was heard from the corner of the room "Princess Anne has finally decided to grace us then, its a little wonder she could make it for us, two weeks gone and she's back as if nothing has happened."

Anne hair stood on edge, she could feel the water prickling at her eyes she turned to the owner of the voice a Katherine Brooke, with a sarcastic smile on her face.

"Ignore her." Owen whispered to Anne as the two turned back round.

"How many credits did you earn in favours then?" Anne heard her bark. This proved to be too much for her she jumped out of her seat leaving her belongings behind her.

Owen gathered both of their belongings quietly, Professor Cooper asking him "where do you think you're going?" he asked Owen.

He looked to the professor surprised by his reaction but all the same said "After her," He said quietly. "I don't think Gilbert would forgive me if I left her alone." Owen told the professor.

With the naming of Gilbert (one of his past favourite pupils he had taken a few English courses the first two years of his undergraduate studies no doubt to be closer to the aforementioned redhead) the professor took a deep breath letting it go he told Owen "I hold you responsible for catching her up."

"Yes, absolutely." Owen agreed and left the room.

The class was a little unsettled before Professor Cooper settled the class down and started the class correctly. It wasn't until the end of class, when people had started leaving the room he approached the dark haired women.

"Are you aware of Miss Shirley's circumstances?" he asked her.

"Circumstances?" Katherine asked a little shocked the professor would approach her in this way.

Professor Cooper scoffed for a moment before shaking his head "Course you're not." He muttered before telling her "maybe you should reserve your prejudices from now on Miss Brooke." He told her "and trust me when I say that Miss Shirley could pull every favour in the world right now and it still wouldn't qualify for your judgement." He told her, then quick as he had appeared he had left the classroom.

Katherine swallowed feeling a little guilty for a moment before she blew the feeling off, she made her way into the courtyard and through a quiet corridor she knew was used by very few people. It was there she found Anne and Owen sitting on a bench in the deserted corridor. She suddenly felt guilty again upon seeing the red eyed girl. Anne stood from the bench and glared at Katherine in front of her.

"What is your problem with me?!" She finally demanded. "You've had a bee in your bonnet about me since day one!"

"I've not." She said shortly.

"And you still deny it! Unbelievable!" Anne said the tears coming back to her eyes "What is it with you Kingsport _women_! I've been a lot of places and never have I came across a more judgemental group of women in my life!"

Katherine scoffed "Judgemental." She said sarcastically. "Of you?!" she demanded.

"Yes of me, why? What is so wrong with me?!" she asked.

"You're a spoilt little princess!" Katherine finally spouted. "From day one you had the favour of ever lecturer in the school..." she started.

"I did my undergraduate degree here, they all know me from then!"

"...Oh you, you and your precious little pretentious life, with the handsome boyfriend and the lovey dovey world of your precious little island!" she spat "You could know no different could you!" she finally demanded.

"You know nothing about me!" Anne told her. "I didn't have a family I didn't have a home or a boyfriend, I didn't know love for a very long..."

"Didn't know love?" Katherine quipped "You didn't have to live through a family who resented you, I was glad the day I got to go to university, I worked my way here I got here on a scholarship!"

"You think I knew anything but resentment the first sixteen years of my life! I was tossed carelessly from family to pillar to hate and envy from the other kids in the care home to the hate and envy of any other children in the home I was placed in, I wasn't wanted I wasn't cared for, but I never dreamed of throwing it back in someone elses face because they had all the things I craved."

"Poor little princess however did you survive?" she asked her dripping with sarcasm. "and what now? Now you have your precious boyfriend and perfect life, you just ooze it don't you?" Her mouth twisted cruelly "What did you loose princess? What terrible trauma came to pass to make the crown knock off your head?"

Anne didn't even take a breath her eyes welled up her chin shook before she whispered "Our baby." She said quietly before she swallowed and ran into the bathrooms just opposite where they were sitting.

Katherine looked a little shocked and thought back, Anne had been ill upon returning from the Christmas break she'd assumed she had just partied too hard. "But no, you wouldn't know, they planned on working through it." Owen said quietly. "The baby was due in September they could have the summer preparing, what little money was coming in would go on a nanny so Anne could come to lectures when the baby was born." Owen took a heavy sigh "Did you read Anne's book Miss Brooke?" he asked her to which Katherine shook her head. "Maybe if you read it, you'd understand her better." Owen suggested "and don't pass judgement on my friends ever again."

"Anne was pregnant." Katherine said quietly, still apparently in shock. "I had no idea." She said quietly before she scudded down the corridor.

* * *

Anne sat still the in the apartment the next night (she hadn't been back into university the rest of the day before or that day, she was somewhat dampened by Katherine's behaviour) watching Gilbert typing away on his laptop apparently completely immune to the pain she felt.

Though she knew this wasn't sure she was confused by Gilbert's behaviour. He carried on, he hadn't stopped. There was clearly something to worry about because Mrs Blythe still here, currently in the kitchen cooking yet another meal which would end up in the freezer. He hadn't stopped not for a single moment, they had gone into the hospital on the Friday evening she had miscarried by midnight fainted for loss of blood by two, the doctors had let her out of the hospital on Monday morning with strict instructions for her to be on bedrest for at least a week, Gilbert had brought her home where his mother (as promised) waited along with Marilla, Cornelia Leslie and Owen, he had left for medical school, went in like the weekend hadn't happened. He must be feeling something? Yet he went on.

'Did he even care?' her mind pricked her

'Wow, that was harsh.' She told herself. Of course Gilbert cared! It was Gilbert!

It was in that thought there was a knock on the door. Gilbert was the one who got up first and went to the door opening it to find a surprise visitor on the other side. Gilbert's features hardened making it clear to the women he knew of her antics the previous day but still wordlessly let her in the apartment.

Katherine looked over the room to Anne who looked not surprised nor angered by her presence, in fact her face showed little emotion if any her eyes although focused on Katherine as she came over were still in a unseen far place, her long red hair in a low pony tail looked a little rough round the edges. "hello Anne." She said softly. "I um," she faulted at Anne's lack of responses "I just, I have notes for the lectures from yesterday and today." She told her "though I'm sure they aren't as detailed as your own but I thought..." she trailed again and took out the papers from her bag and put them on the coffee table in front of her. When she stood straight again Anne still hadn't responded, her eyes still far off her face still emotionless. "On Mr Ford's recommendation I read your book, I actually purchased it at the beginning of the year, but then, you know that you're Gilbert picked it up for me in the corridor the first day, but anyway I read it." She said quietly. "I liked it." She tried again after a moment silent "You're very talented, I couldn't help but feel I knew you better." She continued to try before she swallowed and finally said quietly "I'm sorry I misjudged you. I thought I saw something you aren't."

Katherine waited for a response but when she got none she started to walk away "I only every wanted to be your friend, Katherine Brooke." Anne said softly.

"We could still be, if you wanted." Katherine replied to her.

Anne shook her head before she said quietly "I... I don't know yet." She admitted.

"Fair enough." Katherine said "I'll still bring you notes, maybe we could study together when you feel up to it?" she asked Anne but when she received no answer she nodded to Gilbert and walked out the door.

"That's not like you." He said quietly.

Anne sighed stood up and as she walked into the bathroom said "I'm not sure who I am anymore."

* * *

 **AN: Hi Everyone, I don't know if you all hate me right now, because I think as soon as we knew this was Joy, something was going to happen and you were all hoping that maybe I wouldn't write it as it was in the book.**

 **This chapter (and ones around it) have been edited changed pulled and pushed at for such a long time and I had these chapters written for a long time, at least in their skeleton form. Just like the earlier chapters where I had to write about abuse and sometimes weave it into the story from very early on so that there were signs there, this is one of those chapters which changes everything.**

 **Its hard to write and during the time I had this written up, both my sister and a friend miscarried. My sister miscarried about 12 weeks into hers and my friend gave birth to her little boy a mere week or two further along in her pregnancy then Anne was in my story.**

 **Just a couple of things, I know the law about treatment of miscarried babies/ fetus' varies from country to country. I know from one of you guys that in Australia Joy would have got a burial whereas here in England its 24 weeks. I couldn't find the information for Canada so please note I went off England's treatment of miscarriages. I'm sorry if this is inaccurate to Canada and I don't mean to be insensitive to it.**

 **There are a number of reasons why this late term miscarriage might have happened, and honestly I haven't written it in as to why it happened. They happen and I've seen it and the effects it had on two of the sweetest ladies in my acquaintance, along with their husbands, and honestly it almost made me go back on it all at one point, the heartache is so hard to watch in reality. Its a heartache and so hard and all I could do was say "if you need to talk I'm here, if you don't need to talk, I'm also here."**

 **This has an impact for a few chapters yet, so please stick with me I know its hard to read.**

 **As always I know there maybe people reading this who have been affected by this kind of situation.**

 **I wish I could make it better for you.**

 **Take the time you need, take the love you need and no its not okay, it won't ever be okay and I am so sorry.**

 **Anyway love to you all**

 **(and yes, Leslie and Katherine are painfully harsh here its something which slowly heals, there's a number of turning points in a lot of relationships coming up!)**

 **Carrots x**


	65. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 29

**Hi Everyone,**

 **I know I've left it a while since my last posting, just because I'm so mega busy! But its all starting to settle again, I think so I think I'm doing okay!**

 **Thank you all for your beautiful reviews, some of you have obviously been touched by the subject matter in more then one way! I am so sorry for all of you who have had to go through this, I don't think it matters when they are miscarried, each time has its own challenges, and I'm sorry.**

 **Guest, hey don't worry about your reviews, yes the happiness was needed in the previous chapter, but as well with a lot of my stories, I just assume those conversations would be had and I don't always write about it. I think their parents may have had concerns about it but they were there the whole weekend so those conversations could be had later, I don't always make it clear they were said at all!**

 **Kim, bless you! Just make sure you log in! The system I believe logged everyone out for security reasons earlier in the month (maybe the end of last month?) probably why you didn't see you were logged out!**

 **So we continue on, and this chapter is no picnic! But its really important, some of you said things very similar to this, I mean luckily its fiction I get to resolve it, I know it doesn't always resolve in real life**

 **love to you all**

 **Carrots x**

* * *

Anne watched Gilbert one late night with an odd mixed feeling.

Physically, Gilbert had been there for her. Quite literally, from the moment they had rushed her into hospital well into her recovery, he had taken care of her. She'd been laid in bed and even while he went off to medical school he left her in the capable hands of his mother. Literally making sure every moment that Anne was okay.

Emotionally, he'd let her cry, he held her close, he'd stay with her hushing her to sleep. He'd seen her through her darkest emotions and _let_ her feel!

That had been the intensely good.

But she watched him as he typed away at his computer, no doubt focusing on something important, but she wondered, had he focused on losing Joy at all?

The way he behaved she had to say no. She had to believe no, in actuality, she knew Gilbert held so much passion in his heart.

She sighed.

Then why had he not cried?

Why had he not talked of her?

But, it didn't really make sense, for Gilbert to be so disconnected from his feelings but it ran raw with her.

"Gil?" she questioned.

"What is it love?" he asked her his head shooting up he looked at her with such anticipation, as if he expected to say 'how high' to her 'jump'. "Do you need anything?"

Her lips upturned for a moment before she said quietly "I-I need for you to talk." She told him.

"Oh?" he asked. "What about?"

"Joy." She said quietly. The very name drained the colour from his cheeks.

"Oh-O-okay." He replied quietly.

Anne looked at him and waited for him to say something to her, anything which would make it easier for her to start, but when no words came she said "I miss her."

The three words appeared to have little effect on him, which was the strangest of sensations, her conscious was telling her 'looks can be deceiving' and that Gilbert will be hurting, but there wasn't any response from him other then a small nod and a swallowing action from him.

"Is it not strange?" she asked him "I mean, I was barely half way through my pregnancy, she was so tiny but I feel as though there's this massive gap where she should be, I mean I would still be pregnant right now, that's how unbelievable it is."

Gilbert moved across the room sitting with her on the cuddle chair he wrapped his arms around her kissing into her hair gently. "What do you think?" she asked him.

There was a marked silence where she could hear his heart beating fast in his chest, he breathing uneven but still his outward appearance remained calm "I think, you're so brave Anne, I'm sorry you're in so much pain." He took a deep breath then said "If I could take it from you I would."

Anne cuddled into his chest, she couldn't help but know she was in the safest place in the world right now. It only took a couple of minutes for her mind to return to the same place as before, a lack of expression on his part, what was his feelings?

She supposed, she might never know.

* * *

Wednesdays were Gilbert's favourite day, he used to joked. It was his favourite because it was the given day and time which the medical students got time to simply study. Where Gilbert enjoyed the hustle of the hospital, he liked the physical work, he did fins himself missing the paperwork the study of it, so Wednesday 5pm he would finish at the hospital be back through the door at 5:20 and settled studying by half past he'd happily stay there all night.

Which was why when Anne saw half seven on a Wednesday come and go without so much as a text from Gilbert she started to worry.

"I thought you said Wednesdays was Gilbert's early finish." Mrs Blythe asked her confused.

"I did." Anne replied "It is."

"Oh." Mrs Blythe replied confused as the lift rang, the doors opened and in came Gilbert. "You're late." Mrs Blythe said.

"Yeah sorry." He admitted going to the table and putting his laptop there.

"Did they make you do the full shift at the hospital?" Anne asked.

"No." He replied in an eerily calm manner.

"Did- did you need to go to a lecture?" she asked him.

"No." He replied "Just needed to take care of something." He said shortly.

Anne looked at him surprised but turned back to her own work at hand this hadn't been the first time he had been short about where he had been, it probably wouldn't be the last.

* * *

Anne tossed in bed a few days later, her head pounding from the lack of consistent sleep since they lost Joy. She reached to try to find Gilbert beside her but instead found an empty bed. She sighed heavily before she got up out of bed and went into the living area, after all it wouldn't have been the first time he had fallen asleep in front of the computer screen. So she was even more surprised when he was no where to be found in the living area either. She sighed confused and went to look for the clock, maybe it was earlier then she thought, maybe she had snoozed and woke believing it was the middle of the night when she saw the clock it read 12:45. Well, the possibility of him having fallen asleep in the library was slim to none, security were especially vigilant of clearing the buildings of students. Anne sighed and headed towards the refrigerator when the elevator binged Anne looked towards it to see Gilbert staggering in.

"Anne." He said surprised. "I thought you'd be asleep."

"I was, of sorts." She said "I just needed a drink." She said pulling out her bottled water.

He swallowed and looked at her tired.

"Where were you?" she asked him.

"I told you I was going out with some of the boys." He told her.

"You didn't." Anne said to him.

His hand hit the counter so hard Anne wondered if it didn't hurt, but as soon as he looked up he was deadpan in the eyes and voice "I don't need to tell you where I am twenty four hours a day."

Anne moved closer to him to try and work out what was wrong but stepped back in shock when she could smell the alcohol on him. "Oh wow!" she said stunned.

"So what, I'm _allowed_ to drink." He said again deadpan to her.

"Allowed?" she asked quietly "I didn't say you couldn't but you must have drank a lot." She said.

"So what?!" he claimed, Anne praying his mother wouldn't wake at the sound of voices. She did not want Mrs Blythe to see her son drunk.

"You're not exactly famous for holding your liquor Gil." She whispered. "What's going on with you? This isn't you."

His face hardened, but no words came before he stepped back and went into the bedroom.

Anne half exhausted half worried held her head in hands for a moment looking towards the bedroom door. She sighed and went over to her laptop, knowing she wouldn't sleep for a good long while now.

An hour later Anne took a bucket some aspirin and a glass of water to his bedside. She slipped around the other side of the bed and lay back.

"Sorry." She heard him say quietly.

She sighed but said "It'll be fine Gil, just go to sleep." She told him.

There was once upon a time her man would have snuggled into her, kissed her senseless in a frenzied make out session. A part of her was glad this Gilbert didn't, but another part of her broke a little.

They hadn't been intimate since loosing Joy. She was glad of this, having sex right now would just be a reminder of what they had lost, but there _was_ a difference wasn't there? They had always been intimate, they hadn't always had sex and it was a longing for intimacy right now she seemed to forever be chasing with him.

Did he not miss the intimacy, for that matter did he not miss the sex?

She considered the idea where he might have been tonight, last week, every time he was late back, then shook her head. "Don't be ridiculous Shirley." She whispered to herself.

* * *

A few days more Anne and Gilbert were sitting across from each other, their laptops touching their phones lay next to each other they were both studying in their own worlds but at least side by side.

Gilbert had wandered off to the bathroom before Mrs Blythe said "It's always nice to see you two like this."

Anne looked up confused for a moment before she continued.

"It reminds me of when you used to come over and you'd study for hours together, It just, it reminds me of then." Mrs Blythe said to Anne.

Anne smiled and nodded "we always liked to study together, that first year and a half of university we were always together studying out things together, even though our subjects were quite different, it was like I could study better knowing he was right there." Anne smiled.

"He took a couple of modules so you could study together those first couple of years you know?" Mrs Blythe smiled.

"He-he did?" Anne asked.

Mrs Blythe smiled "how many pre-med students had an interest in creative writing." Mrs Blythe laughed.

"Gilbert!" Anne exclaimed "he..." Anne trailed "I..." she continued. "I can't believe I didn't work that out."

Mrs Blythe laughed "You once said you said you loved him at that point?" she questioned.

Anne smiled softly remembering the first year "I couldn't admit it, out of sheer fear of what it meant, I couldn't do it to him!" she remember, "but I loved every second we spent together, I loved that night he turned up in a dress." Anne smiled.

Mrs Blythe smiled "Oh I can imagine!"

"We danced around my tiny room, I lead of course."

"Well he couldn't with that dress!" Mrs Blythe quipped.

"We laughed the whole time!" Anne smiled remembering it. Her face fell and she looked down into her lap "We were so happy. He was so happy." She added quietly.

"Anne." She whispered walking over to her and sitting beside her "Sweetheart you do make him happy."

"Do I?" Anne asked with a hollow chuckle.

"Sweetheart, do you remember?" she asked her "When you told me everything I needed to know, I told you he wasn't good with expressing the bad emotions."

Anne looked to Mrs Blythe and nodded. "But, he's not expressing at all." Anne said quietly, "I ask and he's blank, its just a blank slate."

"He's always been..." she started before Gilbert's phone beeped as a message came through where his mother looked to the screen, she looked confused at the screen for a moment before she shook her head "Was that Christine's name that came up?" She asked looking at the screen.

Gilbert came out of the bathroom where Anne said "Your phone buzzed."

"Really?" he questioned.

He picked up the phone, Anne looked to Gilbert for his reaction to the phone but when he didn't remark she said "Christine?" she questioned.

He looked at her his eyes wide he asked her "did you read it?" he asked quickly.

"Well..." Anne started.

"How many other messages have you read?" he snapped.

"She's read none." His mother interrupted "I saw Christine's name come up when the message came through, Anne didn't see it at all." She told him firmly.

Anne looked to him shocked at his reaction, he muttered a sorry taking his laptop and phone into the bedroom.

Anne swallowed her eyes filling with tears her hands started to shake

"Anne?" Mrs Blythe asked her taking her hands in hers.

"What's happening to him?" Anne asked starting to sob.

* * *

"Where were you?" Anne asked him as he came in the apartment, it was now six weeks after they had lost Joy, things had became strained in the apartment Mrs Blythe stood by watching the scene unfold.

"A little thing called medical school Anne." He muttered to her.

"Really?" she asked "Because Josh was here two hours ago asking if he could borrow your notes, I had to tell him I had no idea where you were." Anne said.

Gilbert swallowed looking down into his hands.

"What's going on Gil?." she stopped and shook her head. "What are you not telling me, we used to tell each other everything but..." she paused then quietly added "I can't believe I'm asking this... are you cheating on me?" she asked him.

"Is that what you think of me?" he asked her flatly.

"Misdirecting the question much?" Anne asked him sarcastically.

"Come on and sit..." Mrs Blythe tried to intervene before Anne snapped at Gilbert

"Or is it a guilty conscious?" Anne asked.

"If you think I would cheat then leave." The words were flat and unemotional, detached and cold.

Both Anne and Mrs Blythe looked to him shocked. Anne eyes went wide before Mrs Blythe tried "Gilbert you don't mean that."

"Will people stop trying to tell me what I mean and what I don't." Gilbert chilled without emotion.

"Gilbert!" Anne exclaimed in shock that he would talk to his mother like that.

"I didn't mean it when I propose?" he looked up at Anne with a cold echo and gaze then turned to his mother "I don't mean it when I said leave?!" said equally to his mother. "When do I mean what I say?" he asked.

"When you talk sense!" his mother snapped at him. "Anne..." she started thinking she could talk sense to her but she turned to Anne to see the girl mouse like and pale.

"You mean that?" Anne asked him. "You want me to leave?" she asked wide eyed, he only stood, silent and dumb.

Anne swallowed then looking down at her feet said "if it'll make you happy." She said softly as she dodged around him and headed to the bedroom.

His mother looked horrified at her son before she followed Anne into the bedroom. She saw as Anne brought down a small luggage bag, opening it on the bed in front of her.

"Please don't go Anne." Mrs Blythe said to her.

Anne swallowed and shook her head "When he was in that accident, the one after senior year I swore to him, he was unconscious but I swore, I would do whatever made him happy, I would nurse him the rest of my life because that is the love he deserves, but if it made him happy I would also leave." She sobbed "...and I stand by it." She said with a shrug.

"But Anne, you love him!" Mrs Blythe pleaded.

"And I always will." She said with a cry, "I'm leaving _because_ I love him." Anne said to her.

"No, Anne, it won't it won't make him happy."

"But he's not telling me what's going on, where he is, what he's doing, you know this, you've been here since we lost Joy six weeks ago, six weeks! He's kept on going, he doesn't talk, he doesn't say how he _feels_ and he doesn't even tell me where he's going anymore, where is he? Because we both know its not medical school all of the time, so what else can I do?" she asked. She took a deep sigh "I have to stay for my job, but I'll um, I'll go and stay with Phil." Anne said quietly. Zipping up the bag with the few items she had taken.

"Anne, please don't." Mrs Blythe asked her as Anne picked up the bag and left the bedroom.

Mrs Blythe followed her out glaring at her son who was still standing in the same position as they left him in. "Apologise, now!" she demanded of him. "Gilbert Blythe, stop her now!" she demanded.

Gilbert's eyes dimmed as the elevator was called and Anne wouldn't look back, his gut was turning his head was spinning, but still he couldn't speak, the feeling didn't subside as the doors slid open and Anne left the apartment, his silence was all the confirmation she needed.


	66. A&G of PEI Chap 30- Gilbert's redemption

**For those of you who don't know or who aren't following me as an author I've written a small story based in the 'Anne with an E' series. I didn't know they had a whole other fandom in the TV section, its like they can't handle that actually it was based on this book, but at the same time its so different to the books that I get why its separate, plus it keeps all of those stories neatly in their own section. I'll be honest I have watched the first and second seasons of it. My honest opinion, Physically speaking the actors who plays all the characters are closer in description (their physical appearance) then I've ever seen in any series, bar none, I don't think I'm over exaggerating it, they've done really well on it. However the storyline is NOT the books, and I know they want to put a modern twist on it and that's fine I understand that probably the books have been done to death and honestly too many people would directly compare the 1980s version and freak out because they are nothing alike. The 1980s version although yes did divert from the books quite heavily in the sequel it still had the 'Anne spirit' and so we tend not to care all that much, although why, why use Morgan Harris when you had a Roy in the books I don't know, we won't go into the continuing story or new beginning, these are crimes to the whole series so lets just forget about them!, So yes Anne with an E I like to think is a very good bit of fanfiction where actually they are doing a good job in characterising how they would react in those circumstance... for the most part,one or two things niggle at me but they do repair the damage later so I can forgive them. So its called 'White dress' its in the crossover section with Anne with an E and Anne of green gables series because I can't call it Anne with an E fanfiction its definitely the Anne and Gilbert from the books but it's definitely taking place in that verse because I reference the white dress, oh and I mention Bash too (an out of universe character who totally ships Shirbert!). Or click on my author profile (although the profile itself needs updating the story will show on there).**

 **Back to this story! Its interesting so many of you are looking for a 'Gilbert redemption'. It makes me smile because he is the nice boy next door isn't he? And I'm glad he's translated so well into the modern story that you're all STILL looking for it, I suppose because we all know he's hurting and its realistic that this Gilbert would be, although I maintain the one in the book had it rough, its something I find hard with Montgomery, yes I know its about Anne its about female comradeship, I just find it sad that with all the passion Anne had it goes away, its not the same and Gilbert's relationship with her often feels distance, but then he's barely mentioned in the books. Anyway, This is obviously different, I am working in all these characters in a a different way to the books and I think thats okay. So for all of you waiting I've actually named this chapter...(Something I haven't done in this story!)**

 **love Carrots x**

* * *

Two weeks later Josh was running late again. He had been working for two it seemed and had just dropped off some notes for Gilbert when he went speeding round the corner and quite literally bumped into a familiar face.

"Philippa Gordon!" He exclaimed with a smile to the dishevelled women. "Well it's been a while, it must have been one of your Friday night parties the last time I saw you, you remember when we were undergraduates you were in Patty's place with Anne." He said with a smile.

"That's right Hello Josh it _has_ been a while." She said with a smile holding up her left hand.

"No way!" He exclaimed looking at the ring on her finger, "Whose the lucky man?!" he exclaimed.

"What do you take me for Josh!" Phil said with a smile. "Still Jonas!" she exclaimed.

"Blake!" he exclaimed. "Well I know who got the better end of that deal!" he said with a smile.

"Oh Hush! Don't say such things about my Jonas!" Phil said. "Where are you off to in such a rush?" she asked him.

"Oh, The hospital," He said "I'm at medical school with Gilbert you know." He said quietly, "well I say _with_..." he trailed carefully.

"What do you mean?" Phil asked.

"Well, I know he's having a rough time, what with losing the baby and everything but he's going to loose his place if he's not careful. I mean he could have had grievance leave but to just up and..."

"Loose his place?" Phil asked confused. "Take a step back there Josh, what do you mean? Why would he loose his place?"

"Well he's not been in the last two weeks- well a little longer actually." Josh told her.

"Two we-" she started, the stopped gave a heavy sigh and whispered "When Anne left."

"Anne left!" Josh exclaimed in shock his eyes wide. "Are you kidding?" he asked.

"According to Anne he asked her to leave, he'd been going out without telling her where he was going, he wouldn't say when he got back, secretive, snappy, unaffectionate, they got in an argument and he told her to leave."

Josh shook his head "No, no way!" he exclaimed. "Phil, no, that's not Gilbert." He said, "he adores Anne!"

"Evidently heartbroken, the poor lambs!" Phil sighed heavily. "if he can't function enough to walk out the door to school."

"How's Anne handling it?" Josh asked.

Phil sighed heavily. "No much better I'm afraid." She admitted "She's going to lectures but I'm told by a friend that she's there in body but not spirit, but luckily it end of term soon, her job she's doing the minimum hours, she's spending the rest of time in my spare room." She said.

"So she came to you." Josh acknowledged, "Well at least we know she's alive."

"Only just." Phil said "Oh Gil, what have you done?!" she muttered.

"Look, I think I can get the grievance leave for him, a sort of retrospective one the doctors won't mind, they love Gilbert, but there would need to be no more hiccups, Gilbert was ahead of everyone else anyway, in his hours in his experience, and I know they don't want him to fail he's top of the class , as long as he's back first thing next week, but we need to get them back to working order, and fast!" Josh said to her.

"Give me your number," Phil told him reaching for her phone "Go and get Gilbert his leeway."

"What are you going to do?" He asked Phil.

"I'm going to be the preverbal wedge in the door." Phil said. "I'll push them together if I have to, this nonsense of Gilbert and Anne being apart has gone on long enough."

* * *

"Mrs Blythe!" Phil said with a smile as she opened the door.

"Anne!" Mrs Blythe exclaimed almost pushing Phil to one side to get to Anne wrapping her arms around her, the older women bursting into tears as she held the girl. "Oh, you're home!" she cried. "Oh my baby girl!" she exclaimed. "Oh Anne!" she cried.

"I'm still not sure why I'm here" she said dully, looking to Phil for a moment, "he doesn't want me here." Anne said quietly.

"Is that what you believe?" Mrs Blythe asked her. She dragged Anne through the door and through the apartment opening the bedroom door.

"He's been like this since you left." Mrs Blythe explained.

Anne looked in horror as he was lying in bed. She couldn't believe her eyes the room was dim, the room stuffy with a sense of musk around it. He was lying completely still, at this moment asleep as Mrs Blythe explained "he went to bed and he hasn't come back out, he hasn't eaten, he's barely drank any water, he hasn't spoken, he's barely slept, this is unusual," she said, "he's not been into school or down to the hosptial." She said to Anne which made Anne turn in horror.

"But, he'll loose his place in medical school!" Anne exclaimed in shock.

"Josh arranged the grievance leave he should have taken with school." Phil said closing the door behind her from the other side of the apartment. "As long as he's back on Monday and do some catch up hours in the next month it'll be fine." Phil said "apparently they want him to succeed."

"Anne, please, _please,_ you can talk sense to him, he listens to you, he might not have done a lot when you lost Joy but you gave him the strength to do something! I can't bare it Anne, I can't see my boy like this anymore!" she said crying to Anne's arms. Anne soothed the older women for a moment before she asked Mrs Blythe to give them some privacy.

Anne walked to the side of the bed behind him slipped off her shoes. She lifted the sheets carefully and slid into the bed beside him, She felt him stir and turn towards her his face reflected the shock he felt upon seeing her face, she couldn't quite believed he was shocked!

But she slid further down the bed wrapping herself in him, she reached up to his lips and kissed him, the gentlest kiss they had ever shared. His eyes shut his lips responding to the feather like kisses she was giving him.

"Hey." She whispered.

"Hey." He whispered back, his throat raw.

With those words she tilted his lips towards hers and pressed her lips there softly. His lips were unusually dry next to her soft lips but it didn't stop her from moving closer. Their arms intertwined his fingers lacing through her red hair before his fingers found the ends where he scrunched them slightly in the palm of his hand, his hand smoothed down her t-shirt and found the small gap between her top and cute skirt she had worn, his fingers grasped at her bare waist holding her tighter his hand travelling up her undraped back finding no interruption of a bra strap. He paused in surprise as she let out a small sigh at his actions , he pulled back for a moment to looked into her eyes, it wasn't an objection to his movement as he found himself letting out a likewise gasp as she lifted the t-shirt which had clung to his body for so long exposing his torso, he was even more surprised when he reflected the action she gave no objection, only wrapped herself around him he took a deep breath of relief. After a few seconds he watched in awe as she slid the already bunched up skirt down her legs closely followed by her tiny knickers. He was quick to join her in the state of undress, he looked at her for a moment and she to him as they lay in their natural state he leaned in and gently kissed her again.

Despite their gentleness their bodies aligned so easily into each other, neither one of them would describe it as sex(although the union took place), but as a intimacy which was healing a wound, there was no frenzy to it, nor sudden release which came with love making, but their heart beat next to each others, their lips never left each other, and all that was shared as they peaked was their eyes squeezing shut and their arms wrapping tighter round the other.

Anne was somewhat shocked when immediately after her release he burst into tears and the sweet sound of his voice crying into her "I'm so sorry Anne." He said simply as he continued to cry into her. "I'm so sorry."

"I'm sorry too." She whispered back her voice almost choking on her words. "I, I don't think you were cheating on me, not really." She said quietly.

"How could I cheat on you?" he chocked, "I've wanted you for so long, why would I do that?" he asked her.

She shrugged and muttered "Maybe I'm too damaged to carry babies." She muttered, his eyes widened in shock as she spoke "Maybe you were looking for someone who could child bare." She said.

"Anne!" he gasped abhorred.

"You always wanted children, you said even back in high school that you wanted kids." She said.

"With you!" he told her.

"You didn't know that then..."

"Yes, yes I did, I knew the consequences of my fantasies, I knew you'd be their mother, if it wasn't you it would be no one."

"You'd want kids."

"I wanted you." He told her "I mean even if we have kids, we could think about adoption anyway."

"Adoption?" Anne asked.

"Well yeah." He said with a shrug "I heard some pretty awesome things about adopting." he said with a meaningful look to her which made her look into his eyes, almost with a smile on her face.

"Okay." she whispered. "Maybe." she agreed with a nod.

There was a marked silence before he whispered "I- I wasn't cheating on you, I was out with the Lambs okay?" he said to her.

"Oh." Anne said her head shaking. She pulled him back from her shoulder looking him in the eyes "Well, why didn't you just say? I would have loved to have seen the alumi." She told him softly.

"Not like this you wouldn't." Gilbert said after a pause.

"Not like what?" she asked.

He took a deep breath muttered something, when Anne asked him to repeat himself he said it a little louder "We went parachuting." He told her.

"You..." she shook her head and looked at him like he was crazy "You _what_?!" she asked he knew what was coming next their bodies separated under the covers, it felt like hell this time, but he knew this conversation was needed, they needed to talk, if he had a chance of saving his relationship. "You _promised_ **_never_** do anything dangerous like that again!" Anne exclaimed "Or need I remind you, you nearly died doing a stunt like that."

"I know..." he started

"What is wrong with you!?" she questioned him. "How could you risk your life like that?!" she asked him "How can I lose Joy and you within six weeks of each other!?" she questioned.

"I needed..." he started

"What? A buzz? The thrill?" she asked.

"I needed a release!" he exclaimed "What the _hell_ do you think it was the _last time_?" he asked her "You think I didn't know what I was doing was dangerous? All I knew last time was that I wasn't numb for a few hours I could feel something other then the pain of loosing you to another man."

"Right." Anne said sarcastically "and that's what you're doing this time?!"

"Why else would I Anne?!" he asked almost shouting.

"Because, Gil, it looks like you don't care!" Anne shouted at him. "Jumping out a plane and risking your life...!"

" _I_ don't care?" he asked her.

"Yes, _you,_ and what I said is that it _looks_ like you don't care." She reiterated "you hadn't cried, you hadn't stopped, you just keep on going as if Joy never happened."

"Because I had to!" he exclaimed. "I don't care, I don't care..." he said pulling back and reaching for his laptop on the bedside table.

"Gil what are you doing?" she asked him.

"Just wait." He told her as he put in his password the screen came up with a background in place which surprised Anne.

"You've never had personal pictures as your computer background." She said.

"I know." Gilbert said his head held steady.

"I keep telling you to change it to a less generic one." She continued confused.

"I know." He repeated.

Anne looked again at the picture.

His desktop icons had always been so neat and tidy and still the same lay to the left of the screen the bin icon the skype icon, his browser icon and a short cut to his documents for school. There on the screen was a picture she had almost forgotten existed. Gilbert wasn't looking at the camera he was too busy looking down onto his chest. The curls from his hair loose down his forehead, you could see the tears on his cheeks his hand lay on top of his tiny daughter who was the object on his chest taking his entire attention, there were wires everywhere and the baby so small, her reddish purple skin showing next to his pink hand.

" _That_ is the reason I kept going why I had no choice but to..." he trailed as the tears started to build in his eyes and he shook his head refusing the words to his lips.

"Are you ever going to talk about your feelings Gil!" She exclaimed. "I _know_ you have them!" she told him "Do you know its been eight weeks? You can't hide them from me, I know you too well for that!"

"If _I_ stop, if _I_ morn what happened you know what will happen? _I_ would lose my place at medical school, all this work all this sacrifice would have been for _nothing_. _I_ don't get to stop _I_ don't get to think about it because I still have a future to work to for **_us_**!" he argued back.

"You haven't been in school for over two weeks!" she exclaimed "You're about to loose it!" she argued.

"Because I lost _you_!" he cracked her, "Did you _really_ think I haven't been in pain? Do you think there is a single millisecond I don't think about Joy about holding her for seconds before she was taken away from us." He told her "You, got to be a mom, you carried her, you felt her, you grew her, every second until the last, you knew things instinctually about her. Was she active? Was she laid back? What foods made her make you feel sick, what foods she made you crave, did she like classical music and hate heavy metal?" Anne looked at him wide eyed as she saw the tears rolling down his cheeks. "I don't know any of it! I didn't get to be a dad, before it was taken away from me, you got twenty two weeks!" he took a gasp and whispered "I got half an hour." He said with a sniff "and that's okay, that's how it is, but I am hurting Anne, just because I don't express it by crying and locking myself in bedrooms for hours at a time and moping around, it doesn't mean I don't _feel_ it. We aren't all masters of our outward expressions. I have no way of releasing all this negativity! " He told her "and I remembered when I lost you, I did all the adrenaline rush stuff and it helped! If only for an hour or two but it stopped me from feeling nothing!" He took a gasp for air before he looked at a relieved Anne. "And I lost my baby! I lost _our_ baby girl, I could do nothing! **_Nothing_**! I have medical training, I'm weeks away from getting my medical licence ready for matching and I couldn't _help_! and I thought _it_ would help with the pain!" he exclaimed before he whispered "I tried everything, I tried being strong I tried studying more, I tried drinking I tried..."

"Everything but talking about it."

"But none of it worked! It didn't work!" He admitted the tears now running down his face. "and I had to wonder if..." he trailed

"If?" she questioned.

"If you, if you weren't better off without me." He admitted quietly.

He could honestly say he had never seen such a look of horror on Anne's face before. "are you serious?!" she questioned.

"If it weren't for me, if I hadn't..." he swallowed.

Anne didn't need another sign she went back to his side wrapping herself around him again "Oh my love." She whispered sadly.

" I needed a way to keep going and then you went away too." He said choking. "If I still want to be a doctor, which I do, I have to." He said choking back the tears. " _I have to keep going_." He said in tears, she could tell his narrative had got confused but stayed with him, her arms going around him. "but you were gone and you were better off without me." He whispered.

"No, I could never be better without you, do you know the difference you've made in my life?" She asked him. "I know what love feels like because of you! Do you know, do you have any clue what happens when I'm near you?" she questioned.

"But you wouldn't have got pregnant..." he stated.

"Do you regret Joy?" Anne asked him, to which he looked to her in horror

"No, bu-" he started.

"No, no buts." She objected. "I wouldn't change a single thing, if it meant those 30 minutes with her again I'd do it, I love her."

Gilbert looked to her and swallowed "I do too." he said quietly, "I can't bare the pain I put you through." He whispered. "Pain you might have been spared had you..." he trailed again and to her shock said "stayed with Roy."

Anne sighed heavily "Oh Gil!" she exclaimed "I never would have known love, had I stayed with Roy, a love, only you could give me, you know me you love me, something Roy could never comprehend." She kissed him on his lips only to feel the wet saltiness of his tears "I didn't know." She whispered to him sadly, starting to realise just how much pain he had been in. "I didn't know all of this has been racing around your head!"

"I- I feel it- I feel it everywhere!" he whispered to her "M-my heart is broken, and I don't know if it will ever mend, and then I lost you too!"

She smiled softly then said to him "You didn't loose me." She whispered to him bringing her cheek to his they rubbed together "You just, temporarily misplaced me." She said to him.

"It was up to me to be strong, for us for our future." He told her.

She sighed "No love, its up to us to be strong for each other." She whispered " And you don't have to hide it from me." She told him. "That is what I'm here for." She continued. "Anyone else, everyone else you don't have to, but me, and its not a force thing, but with me, part of the intimacy we share is because we share everything with each other. Now I don't know how it works with other people and quite frankly I don't care, but even before we were friends, we were intimate with each other, you told me about the hockey thing I told you about the song and my mom, I mean I never told anyone anything like that before." She admitted.

"Me neither." He admitted quietly.

"But its when we're apart that things go wrong, like there's this hole right where you should be and its not in a 'you make me whole' kind of way because I'm complete on my own." She told him. "Its just that I'm better, I'm a better person, I do things better, I'm better when I have you." She paused for a moment and the continued quietly "the only way we can get through this is by being honest and open with each other about how it makes us _feel_." She told him "because that's where our intimacy lies, doesn't it?" she asked him, to which he only nodded. "So, we're in this together?" she asked him.

"We are." he nodded to confirm his reply. "Because its breaking me to lose Joy," he told Anne. "It would kill me to lose you too."

"You're not going to lose me." She told him straight "not now," she said quietly then added in a whisper "not ever." She finished putting her arms around him tighter they held each other close sobbing in each others arms.

* * *

A couple of hours later Mrs Blythe opened the door she chuckled slightly at the sight. Anne was lying flat on her back her arms secure around the object, or rather the man who had planted himself firmly near her chest. His head was hiding one breast the other was hidden under his hand the only thing keeping their modesty was their blanket around their waist. She smiled softly, she had heard their 'argument' before but when all had gone quiet she wasn't worried, she knew her son, she knew her daughter in law. She smiled and made a decision, they were both looking too skinny for her liking.

Sometime later they woke in each others arms, they lazily squeezed into each other their lips reaching again for the intimacy.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know." Anne whispered to him.

"Do you really think me so heartless?" he asked her.

"I, no I... I always seem to forget your heart is _just_ like mine, its just you really struggle with expressing it." She admitted "and I can see that now, and I forgot it, but you're telling the truth aren't you? You really have no idea how to release your worries?" she confirmed looking into his eyes.

"I'm not very good at it." He said quietly, "I never have been, when dad was sick I told no one, I retreated, then when I lost you to Roy, even that option wasn't open to me, I had already started on this path and I thought at least if I lost you I would still have school so I worked, and worked and I got tired and sick of being numb so I would do all those dangerous stunts." He shrugged. "And just for a little while I wouldn't feel so empty or sick or tired." He took a deep breath and shrugged "but then I would rather feel that way then deal with loosing..." he said his eyes filling with tears again. "I can't feel like this, I can't do it Anne." He said daring not to move away from her.

She reached for his ear and whispered "You can, and you should, its okay to cry Gil, its okay to feel sad or mad, its okay to be down right depressed." She sighed holding him again as she felt him hold her tighter "Its okay," she told him, then looked up at the bedside table with a confused look on her face, there lay an assortment of snacks and treats all baked goods, none of them healthy, Anne chuckled "Your mothers way of hinting we need to eat again." She told him.

"Trust mom for that." He rolled his eyes "You've not been eating have you?" he whispered kissing her shoulder from behind.

"Neither have you." Anne observed.

"You need to, you're body is healing, or trying to."

"I ate what I could, which hasn't been a lot, its just..." she blushed a little and admitted "its hard." She looked at him a little worried before he nodded his head in agreement and he reached for the banana bread breaking some off offering some to her which she took and looked down at the food before she asked "So um, can I ask, was it a message from Christine that day, do you remember when your mom saw the message come through?"

"Yeah, weirdest thing." He said shaking his head "she'd heard on the lambs grapevine that I was doing a jump, and she was texting me to welcome me back to life, then asked me if we had spilt up." He scoffed biting the banana bread, "Stupid girl, still hasn't married Andy, he's the best thing that could happen to her you know I don't know why she doesn't just marry him already."

Anne rolled her eyes picking at the corner of the food "she's waiting for a better offer."

"While being engaged to another man?" he asked "That's a flawed plan."

"Some guys are into girls who are taken, they see it as a challenge." She said with a playful raised eyebrow to him.

"Me?" he asked her. "Anne come on she _knew_ I was into you..."

"She knew you'd been into me for a long time with no signs from me of any return of affection..."

"That's not true..." he started.

"So she knows you can stick in it, if she managed to tempt you..."

"Tempt?!"

"Lure, lure you away from me!"

He pinned her playful to the bed their pieces of banana bread almost flying out their hands, he brought his legs on either side of her he kissed into her neck before he whispered into her "Never." He sat up and looked down at her "Anne Shirley, did you think I was cheating on you with _her_!?"

Anne blushed slightly "its not impossible..." she said to him.

"Urgh!" he exclaimed in disgust. "That's disgusting!"

"Disgusting?" Anne said in disbelief "Christine is pretty."

"Christine is dull and predictable, she has no opinions which are individual she'd be in a mob without knowing the cause but because it was the 'popular' thing to do!" Gilbert exclaimed he brought himself to sitting up next to her in the bed his back to the headboard.

Anne looked up at him confused for a moment she asked "every single one of those had nothing to do with how she looks."

He looked to Anne and said "I know what you're thinking Anne Shirley." He told her. "I know you think 'well he doesn't go for looks, no wonder he's with me then'." He sighed "its so much more then that." He admitted. "Some people are physically gorgeous, like you said with Leslie when you first met her, and its true, as I said with Leslie once I notice, you can't deny it." He said thoughtfully "then some people you meet them and their souls are big they just burst out of them, and that's what I saw that first day I met you. " He told her "I mean you were beautiful because your soul was bursting from you." He took a breath and thought out loud "then gradually as I got to know you the pieces fell into place." He said with a grin "and as they did one by one, piece by piece I fell more and more in love with you because it made sense of just how wonderful you were, and one day, looks will fade you know people get old, but spirits last forever." He smiled and whispered "Yours was bursting out, because it was so beautiful, I associate all those things which make you you, all those eccentricities all that passion, that knowledge those opinions and love!" he gave a peaceful grin "I associate those things with beauty."

Anne looked up at him and smiled widely "You know Gilbert Blythe you do surprise me at times."

He looked down into her eyes and whispered "You are beautiful, the most beautiful girl I know." He told her "All those things all put together make a picture of you." He shrugged "and I will never _never_ cheat on you!"

Anne snuggled in beside him and whispered "I know."


	67. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 31

**Hi everyone!**

 **Thanks so much for all the comments, PMs likes and follows! These chapters are hard to write I love that there's a genuine reaction from you all and it has been painful, but its time for mending!**

 **I apologise if anyone is sitting with a stop watch, my little boy keeps being sick you have a very sick little carrot and a very tired mammy carrot but hopefully this time he won't be sick again! (I barely knew it was Thursday I was on auto pilot today!)**

 **In this chapter there are bits which are from the original book between Anne and Leslie, I hope it slides in well.**

 **love**

 **Carrots x**

* * *

Anne woke from her slumber, confused for a moment when she wasn't in Phil's spare bedroom and wondered what the weight was beside her. She opened her eyes her lips upturned as she realised it was Gilbert beside her. She turned and looked at the bedside clock which read 03:27 then turned back to watch as Gilbert slept.

Studying his face it was obvious he wasn't well. His normally pink hued face paled a grey tinge to it, there were even asleep bags under his eyes. A pang from Anne's heart went out to him, she even felt a little guilty for not being there when it was happening. The pain he was feeling on his own had buried him in bed, for two weeks. She swallowed a lump in her throat, at the idea of being away from him, it seemed so alien to her now, she felt how wrong it had been to go away, she knew of course how they had become so far from each other. Despite them both having excellent communication skill, despite their intimacy, despite all, they still forgot to share it. She had been all outward in her grief. She had retreated inside herself wanting to hide from the world, not take part in anything extra, where he had thrown himself in outward activity hiding from the inward pain, when he told her, when he started talking, it made sense, it was him, but her grief had stopped her from seeing it, his grief had stopped him speaking it.

He stirred before his eyes blinked slowly open he looked at her again as if he was still surprised by her presence.

"You're home." He whispered.

"And staying." She confirmed he looked at her again before he reached to kiss her. "You need to eat." She told him.

"I _need_ to shower." He contradicted, though Anne couldn't deny the contradiction.

"Is it true you've been in bed for a little over two weeks?" she asked him, to which he shrugged.

"I, Um, I don't know really, what's the date?" he asked.

"Its Thursday 30th July." She confirmed.

He took a deep breath in "Really?" he asked. "30th May, Joy's Birthday." He said quietly. "Two months." He said shaking his head sitting himself up was even a struggle. "God Anne, I've been so crappy lately, God its like I didn't even think of..."

"No, don't." She shook her head handing him a muffin from the box his mother had left for them. "I know where you've been and it's been so dark." She said quietly. "and I abandoned you there." She admitted.

"I abandoned you." He said shaking his head "I was so distant with you, I guess..." he trailed before he continued "... I know, I don't have the experience in sharing myself in that way, I mean the side of me which needs to communicate." He said.

"But you're right, the expression is only half of it really, you've been bottling it up all the time, I saw you when you came back from your dad being ill, you never told anyone. Then later in the year when you thought he was ill you came back and you told no one else and it wasn't until we were friends that you even told me." She shrugged "I guess I thought you'd just tell me, like you did back then..." she trailed.

"But I knew you were experiencing too." He admitted. "I thought it was clear I felt the same way, I mean I am her father. Of course I felt the same."

Anne took a deep breath and said "but you need to say it Gil, you need the outward expression of it, as much as everyone else needs to see you express it."

He nodded biting into the muffin again "I thought you knew, because you felt it too."

"I know." She said looking into his eyes again. "Do you feel like you could walk?" she asked him.

"why?" he reflected back.

"I was wondering if you'd like to take a bath with me, in our bath tub, just we can change the sheets and jut be us again for a little while."

His lips upturned and he questioned "Us?"

"Yeah, Netflix, pizza, lazy bed, lazy food, where we can just talk and sleep." She suggested.

He nodded his head "sounds perfect."

No one would quite believe that Anne in her slightness could hold up a man as broad as Gilbert. That is unless you saw her, his arm around her shoulders, their robes snug into them as they left the room, they gingerly took the few steps from their bedroom to the bath room. Having only been out of bed for the occasional toilet visit the few sips of water his mother almost forced down his throat in the couple of weeks, an excited Mrs Blythe upon seeing her son ran into his arms with such force it almost knocked him over.

"Gee Mom!" He teased lightly. "Anyone would think I was at deaths door."

His mother slapped her son on the chest lightly he heard her break into tears, he looked to Anne for a moment who slipped out of the hug to give Gilbert the room he needed to wrap both arms around his mother gently.

"I...I thought I'd lost you!" she cried,

Gilbert's eyes closed in shame as he took a staggered breath out. "Its okay mom, I'm here." He whispered. "You have me back now, everything will be okay."

"Its _all my_ fault!" she exclaimed.

Gilbert pulled her back a little and looked at her perplexed "How women, is _any_ of this _your_ fault?"

"I shouldn't have wanted you to have babies so much, I shouldn't have put on pressure, I should have made you sit and talk about your feelings rather then let you spiral out of control, I shouldn't have let Anne leave and then maybe the both of you wouldn't have..."

Gilbert's arms waved in front of him as his head shook "Mom, stop, you have to stop." He told her.

"I should have been a better mother and forced you to talk when you were younger about your feelings!" she exclaimed sobbing.

"And what?" he asked "Created resentment over being forced to tell you how I felt? How would that have been better?" he asked.

"You would have at least talked!" she exclaimed.

"But not about my real feelings." He said to her softly wiping the tears from her face. "I would have possibly put a false label on them and claimed to have been something I wasn't, I might have tried to have blamed you and mom, one day, no matter how you raised me it stops being your fault and starts being my own." To which she shook her head "yes mom, listen, if you have abused me kicked me hit me shouted me down, that would have been my example, but had I been abusive had I kicked or screamed, that would be me making a _choice_." He looked to her "you were none of those things, thankfully." He said with a half smile to her " and you tried to get me to talk, you tried to make Anne stay, but we all have our own choices to make, and I'm big enough to take responsibility for what I did." He gathered his mother in his arms and whispered to her "Mom, I'm a grown man, and you know the person who I'm most likely to share anything with..." he said turning them to look at Anne. "Is right here." He said quietly.

His mother looked to Gilbert immediately and hugged him some more before she pulled back held him by the cheek and said quietly "I'll let you get back to it then." She told them.

Gilbert smiled to Anne before he said quietly "I think I can make it." He told her referring to getting into the bathroom together. They shut the door and smiled sadly at each other before Anne moved over to the bath and turned on the taps to fill the bath.

"We're all very busy blaming ourselves." Anne said quietly.

"I think its natural." He said quietly.

"Are we right?" she asked absently.

"Does it matter?" he said to her folding his arms around her again.

"To the person," she said thoughtfully "yes."

He looked round at her and kissed her cheek from behind "Is it my mom's fault?" he asked her.

"No!" Anne exclaimed "of course it isn't!"

He smiled half heartily "I'm glad to hear it." He concurred. "Is it my fault?" he asked her more seriously.

"How could it be your fault?" she asked him turning in his arms looking into his eyes "Never, its never been your fault."

He looked at her more worried now, the question played for a moment, a fire threaten to burn, but its one he would have loved to have seen in the moment, however he knew it wouldn't, he asked her anyway "Do you think its yours?"

The heavy sigh would have been confirmation enough, before she said to him "It can't be anyone else's fault." She said quietly "I lost the baby." She said so dully so sadly to broke his heart.

"No one can blame you for that." He said quietly, "you did nothing which would have put our baby at risk, Anne it happens, sometimes for a reason and sometimes for no reason at all." He told her. "Do you know how scared I was when you haemorrhaged?" he asked her. "you were lying there so helpless, and we'd just lost our baby." He held her in closer "God, I don't know what I would have done if I lost you too."

"I have a good idea." She said with a playful eyebrow, to which he sighed and nodded.

"You can't blame yourself." He told her.

She shrugged gently "I think that may take some time." To which he kissed her on her forehead.

"I am here." He whispered.

She hugged into him tighter "you were there, right after, you were there for me and I did appreciate it, its just I couldn't be there for you." She whispered.

He took a deep breath in "You are now." He said to her "and you were there for me, your very presence is balm to me."

"Aw!" she exclaimed holding him close. "Gilbert!" she whispered. "I forget how sweet you are at times."

He chuckled "How many times do I need to be sweet for you to remember it." He teased.

Her eyes twinkled a little as she replied "there's my old Gilbert." Before she kissed him.

"There's something intimate about bathing together." She said as she rubbed in the soap to his shoulders.

"Is it that we're naked together?" he asked her with a grin.

She chuckled and rolled her eyes. "No, although, yes." She said nodding her head "no but I mean it's not sexual sort of intimacy but its not a friendship one, its like..." she said quietly "skin to skin body to body its like I know your contours better." She said quietly her hands slipping below the bubble "I can't help but notice, you're thinner then you were." She said sadly.

"As are you love." He whispered. "But we can make it through can't we?" he asked her.

"Together..." she commented "we can do anything."

* * *

It was Sunday night before either one of them cared to check their phones or even the date. From the Wednesday where Phil had left them they had maybe peered at their phones but they had not answered anyone.

"Are you ready to go back tomorrow?" Anne asked Gilbert.

He nodded before he said "As I'll ever be, I ought to message Josh and thank him for arranging the grievance leave with school. We have to take him and Phil out sometime..."

As Gilbert reached for his phone Anne's phone buzzed. "Oh, a new message, oh its from Cornelia I'll read it first the rest I can catch..." Anne paused reading the message again. "Oh my God!" Anne exclaimed in shock at the text message.

Gilbert came up beside her and kissed into her shoulder "Love is everything okay?" he asked her gently.

"Richard is dead!" she exclaimed looking at the phone in disbelief.

"What?!" Gilbert exclaimed looking at the text over Anne's shoulder "A heart attack?" he asked "at our age?!"

"He made it to the hospital before he went into cardiac arrest." Anne read outloud, "Cornelia went to the hospital with her, they're still there!" Anne exclaimed getting up and getting her clothes on to which he followed suit. "Come on lets go."

* * *

Upon arrival the doctor recognised Gilbert and smiled at him. "Gilbert!" he exclaimed. "Is this you back?" he asked.

"First thing tomorrow morning with my class if that's okay Doctor Perkins?" he asked the older man.

"Anything, anything for you dear boy." He said to Gilbert. "Can I just say how sorry I am for both of you." He said looking to Anne for a moment.

"T-thank you." Gilbert said with a sad smile to him, not knowing how to deal with the emotion he felt in his chest for a moment before Anne silently took his hand squeezing it.

"I know it's never a good time for it to happen, but you had us worried Gilbert, the brightest in your class, I know from your lectures, you were ahead of everyone else, we would of hate to have lost you. Several of us want you to choose us as your speciality next year after matching when you can practice."

"I'm flattered." He acknowledged. "Josh has been amazing getting me the leeway he has."

"Will you catch up?" The doctor asked.

"As you said, I was ahead of everyone, I think I had covered the tests I would have missed, and since I was working through the holidays in the hospital, I had covered my observing time, I've been quite lucky really."

Why are you here now?" he asked.

"Actually for a friend, well actually her husband, we weren't close to him but he just passed away, Richard Moore." He told the doctor.

Doctor Perkins nodded and leaded them to the room "Come on then diagnosis boy." He said with a smile to Gilbert, "Tell me what you see?" he said handing Gilbert the chart.

Gilbert opened the chart and looked at it. "Admined with a heart attack, patient is on Zoloft and prazosin." He said with a shrug "Makes sense for his PTSD." He said looking up for a moment, "but neither one of these would increase the likelihood of a heart attack." Gilbert looked at the page then up at Doctor Perkins before he looked at the page again "no this can't be right." He said.

"I'm afraid so." Doctor Perkins said.

Anne looked confused at the men before Leslie and Cornelia appeared at the door

"Anne!" Cornelia leaped into her arms "are you back?" she asked her "have you and the Doctor Dear made up?" she asked. Anne nodded with a weak smile.

Leslie stepped forward She took a deep breath and turned to Gilbert "He went out with his old army buddies, I was concerned when he didn't come home when he said he would be back, in fact two hours after, he wasn't answering texts or phone calls so I headed down to the whore house I knew he was at, to find him shot up to high heaven, quite literally." She said looking at Anne for a moment. "Cocaine." She told them. "He passed away but not before he gave me these." She told them showing them a new bruise on her face and up her arms. "I'm considering it a parting gift."

Anne went to her and wrapped her arms around her. Gilbert stepped away with Doctor Perkins and Cornelia, Anne pulled away from Leslie, where Leslie said to her "Lets go to the roof Anne, the hospital has such a beautiful view."

* * *

"Anne," said Leslie, breaking abruptly a short  
silence, _"you don't know how GOOD it is to be sitting here with you and being silent together._ "

They were sitting on the roof of the hospital looking out over the horizon the sun setting light in the distance The sun was beginning to be low, and the air was full of woven music from a nearby concert.

 _She looked curiously at Leslie,_ who was looking to Anne, speaking with _a lack of restraint that was very unusual with her._

 _"On that horrible night_ when we all came over," Leslie went on, _"I kept thinking that perhaps we'd have no more talks. And I realised just what your friendship had come to mean to me—just what YOU meant—and just what a hateful little beast I had been."_

 _"Leslie!"_ she said shocked _"I never allow anyone to call my friends names."_

 _"It's true. That's exactly what I am—a hateful little beast. There's something I've GOT to tell you, Anne. I suppose it will make you despise me, but I MUST confess it. Anne, there have been times_ all this time, _when I have HATED you."_

 _"I KNEW it," said Anne calmly._

 _"You KNEW it?"_

 _"Yes, I saw it in your eyes."_

 _"And yet you went on liking me and being my friend."_

 _"Well, it was only now and then you hated me, Leslie. Between times_ you liked _me, I think._ "

 _"I certainly did. But that other horrid feeling was always there, spoiling it, back in my heart. I kept it down—sometimes I forgot it—but sometimes it would surge up and take possession of me. I hated you because I ENVIED you—oh, I was sick with envy of you at times. You had a dear little home—and love—and happiness—and glad dreams—everything I wanted—and never had—and never could have. Oh, never could have! THAT was what stung. You don't remember the first time I saw you, I suppose—_ In the elevator"

"It was the night Gilbert and I came home after I was published and I had my interview for university. _I should think I DO remember it! I thought you were so beautiful—."_

" _I knew who YOU were, although I had never seen either of you before. I had heard of_ the dashing doctor in the penthouse and his girlfriend who was coming to live with him. _I—I hated you that very moment, Anne."_

 _"I felt the resentment in your eyes—then I doubted—I thought I must be mistaken—because WHY should it be?"_

 _"It was because you looked so happy. Oh, you'll agree with me now that I AM a hateful beast—to hate another woman just because she was happy,—and when her happiness didn't take anything from me!_ I used to watch you from my window, when you and Gilbert would part in the street or walk down the street together—I could see you and your love strolling about together arm in arm— _And it hurt me_. _I felt that, if I were not so miserable, I could have liked you and found in you what I've never had in my life—an intimate, REAL friend of my own age_."

 _"But I couldn't understand you, Leslie. One moment you drew me to you—the next you pushed me back."_

 _"I was very unhappy all the time every day was a hard day_. Richard _had been very—very hard to manage I was so heartsick—I—I hated you more, everytime you and Gilbert looked so happy every time I went around to your place,_

 _"Leslie, dearest, stop blaming yourself. You are NOT hateful or jealous or envious. The life you have to live has warped you a little, perhaps-but it would have ruined a nature less fine and noble than yours. I'm letting you tell me all this because I believe it's better for you to talk it out and rid your soul of it. But don't blame yourself any more."_

"Owen gave me a proper reprimand, the night we all came around after your baby..." she trailed. "I deserved it," she said honestly "I told him it was about time something bad happened in your perfect relationship, that it would make your love imperfect." She said to Anne looking nervously towards her. "Then you went away and I didn't see Gilbert again these last couple of weeks..." she said then sighed "Oh and Owen! What he must think! I've never seen him look so shocked, he walked away you know I haven't seen him since, I'm not surprised he could walk away, not after seeing what I am, at what I could feel, how angry I am for someone for just being in love and then to say what I did-" she shook her head "You didn't deserve this." She said quietly. "And in truth, its not made your love less perfect, I think once you come out of all this, once you've had time to heal, I think you shall be stronger."

Anne gave a sad smile "I'm glad someone thinks it." She said the cold suddenly felt on her shoulders.

"But maybe this tragedy, has made me see, made me see that life isn't perfect even for the best of people." Leslie said.

Anne looked up and said quietly "Do you really suppose Leslie that Gilbert and I haven't had our share of weathering? That our pasts have been all rainbows and sunshine?" she asked Leslie who looked at her a little shocked "perhaps in some respects we have had it easier of late, but I promise you our lives have been forged in the fire." Anne said softly "apparently its not over." said she with a wry smile.

"You both look thin, I've not seen Gilbert look so grey in the skin before." Leslie said after a moments silence where the news that not all was perfect for Gilbert and Anne snuck into Leslie.

"We haven't been eating, or sleeping, " Anne admitted "separately." Anne took a deep breath, "We've only just reunited." Anne admitted.

"Good," Leslie said to her, "because Anne, I didn't mean it, I didn't mean it..."

Anne took a sigh and said "I've really been struggling with someone at the university, she hated me, and I mean hated me, not like you did because there were glimmers of liking with you but really she hated me, and I haven't been able to tell her I forgive her, I don't know why."

"Because you are human," Leslie said to her "and have just been through a traumatic experience."

"I just wanted to be her friend too." Anne reflected. "I don't know why I feel as though I can forgive you over her." She shrugged.

Leslie sighed for a moment before she said "Heavens forbid she was worse then me!" Then in the moment "I'm sorry!" she exclaimed reaching over to Anne and hugging her. "I'm sorry Anne you've always been my friend I've just been too proud and hurt in myself to admit it." They remained in the hug for a moment before she asked "You'll come to his funeral, wont you?" she asked Anne.

"Of course." Anne agreed.


	68. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 32

**Hello Everyone!**

 **Another week has past and I can't quite believe its been a week! Its so busy all the time! But I'm glad! In any case thank you SO much for all your reviews! It does mean so much that there is a dialogue between us all!**

 **I don't know if someone PMed me or if they left the comment in their review, but their first time after having Joy does not make the next baby. I know I could have written it like that but inside my head Anne was already back on the pill, I remember after our first baby while they were releasing me from the maternity ward they said "do you have birth control sorted? because you can get pregnant right away." luckily we did and so did Anne.**

 **There is still so much happening in their lives and yes. its out of sync with the books and yes it would have been difficult for Anne and Gilbert to have had Joy but they are the kind of people who had plans in place already.**

 **But still much needs doing in this story so here is the next chapter!**

 **love**

 **Carrots**

* * *

"Anne!" He called, a week later as they were getting ready for the funeral, Anne was in the bathroom finishing her makeup when Gilbert came in the bathroom with a paper in hand "Anne!" he said with a smile on his face holding the piece of paper. "Do you remember what this is?" he asked her holding it in front of her.

She looked down a little perplexed by the look on his face and looked at the piece of paper.

"Oh." She said looking at it. "Its the readings from all the wires they had hooked up to Joy for the..." she blinked back the tears in her eyes. "...the time she was with us." She whispered.

"Yes." He confirmed. "but look." He said his finger pointing to the top graph "Do you know what this is?" he asked her.

"Um, her heartbeat?" Anne guessed.

"Yes." He confirmed "Its her heartbeat." He smiled. "Here." He said pointing to the waves on the paper "can you see five beats?" He smiled. " Anne looked at him still confused. "I want it tattooed." He said. "Right over my heart." Her eyes widened her jaw dropped. "Right here," he said taking her hand and putting it over his chest "So she's always close to me." He told her.

"Gilbert..." Anne started faintly.

"I won't do it if you hate the idea." He told her seriously.

"How could I hate it?!" She exclaimed as the tears finally escaped from her she threw her arms around him "I think that's possibly the sweetest thing I've ever heard!" She heard him take a deep breath in then she felt his arms shaking in the hold along with some irregular gasps which were consistent with crying. She tightened her arms around him holding him close for comfort

"Do you think they'll do it, I mean it would have to be small." He she heard in his sobs.

"Yes, they will." She admitted with a smile. "Maybe, Maybe I could too?" she said "A way of celebrating her life." Anne said to which he came out of the hug and nodded "not mourning her death."

"I think..." he said with a thoughtful stop "I think, its the only way to get through this." He said quietly. His smile turned wide as he looked down at the paper again. "its _our_ girl." He whispered.

Anne smiled at him, finally seeing that maybe there was a light at the end of the tunnel. " _Ours_!"

She looked up into his eyes and smiled sadly "Leslie is getting closure today." She said with a heavy sigh. "She's lucky in that way." Anne admitted sadly.

"I don't think even Leslie wanted Richard's life to end in quite the manner it did." Gilbert told her quietly after a moments silent.

"No, No I don't think she did." She said quietly. "but..." she said bringing him in for a hug "I do believe its opened a door to a budding romance." She said with a coy smile.

"You mean Owen?" Gilbert only pretended to ask. She smiled bringing him closer as he said "You know when I first met Owen, he reminded me of Roy." Gilbert admitted to which Anne looked to him a little shocked before Gilbert admitted "I was jealous for about ten minutes before I remembered you chose me."

"and I still would, I would be no good with a man like Owen, he's published, accomplished, melancholic, romantic, what on earth could I bring to that relationship?" she said with a chuckle as he laughed with her.

"Now I like that." He told her honestly. "But love, are they even on speaking terms yet?" he asked.

"No, not yet, Owen has refused to talk about Leslie all of this week, he won't even let me tell him about Richard." Anne admitted.

Gilbert smiled "well it does him credit that he's being such a good friend to you."

"Yes but what about what he's missing out on?" Anne chuckled.

"Are you two nearly done?" They heard from the living room, it was Mrs Blythe calling through Anne almost missed the little eye roll Gilbert gave.

"Do you think she'll ever go home?" Gilbert whispered to Anne with a cheeky smile.

"Once we've convinced her all is well in the Blythe/Shirley household." She said with a chuckled.

"So basically until you're pregnant again?" he said cheekily which made Anne giggle.

"Basically yeah." She agreed, to which he grabbed her round the middle and in a low voice said

"We better get started then." He said with wiggling flirting eyebrows. Which made Anne squeal in delight before she went serious. "We haven't yet, since... I mean there was, last week but..."

"I know." He said quietly his arms still around her "it'll take time Anne." He said honestly before he kissed into her hair his arm wrapping around her.

"Are you ready?" she asked him. "I mean for sex, I mean like real..."

"I- I don't know." He said quietly. "but, I think that's okay."

"Me too." She replied "to both of them." She said quietly.

"Doesn't stop us from flirting, building the intimacy back up." He said wistful.

"No," She said softly. "No it doesn't." She turned in his arms "I do enjoy the flirting you know."

"And the kisses?" he asked.

"Yeah." She agreed "and the kissing." She told him "it reminds me of the time when we weren't having sex yet, I don't know." She shrugged.

"Its nice to feel intimate." He agreed.

She looked up at him and nodded. "I'm so glad you're such a kindred." She told him with a smile then noticed the time on his watch "We better get moving Gil, the funeral!" she said.

"We still have time." He said with a lazy tone. " I wish you could have left on that pretty green dress you had on earlier." He said longingly. "I liked it . . . it was like the dress you used to wear at the first two years of university." He said with a grin "that dress always made me blush."

"Oh?" she asked him.

"mmm" he sounded "it clung to you in all the right places." He said holding her still.

He looked at the necklace round her neck, his little pink heart "Though that does look rather nice snuggling in that pretty white hollow in your throat, darling." He spoke to her romantically which made her heart flutter in a familiar way.

She felt herself relax into his arms allowing him to take over her limbs. Her eyes opened completely relaxed and turned so she looking at them in the mirror, he looked her in the eyes through the mirror and she thought for a second the last few weeks hadn't happened. Gilbert's hand drifted to her stomach swallowing as he held her a little closer. "We better get going." She said softly.

* * *

"Now are you sure you're both okay?" Mrs Blythe asked them the next day.

"Yes mom." Gilbert said with a sigh "We're both fine."

"And you're going to eat?" she asked them.

Anne smiled at her concern, it was sweet but she had been away from Avonlea for over eight weeks, It was nice to have family there but all the same Anne was looking forward to some alone time, some normality back to their routines.

"...and be sure to eat the food in the freezer..." Mrs Blythe clucked.

"Mom!" he said sternly. "You've given us everything we need." He told her softly and with it he wrapped her up in his arms and hugged into him "thank you mom." He whispered.

"Anything you need!" she told him as he let go of his grip. "You too Anne." She told them.

Gilbert grinned and whispered "Why don't you and dad come here for Christmas?" Gilbert offered her "I don't think we'll make it home for Christmas, things are heated as they are." Gilbert offered with a grin he turned to Anne who nodded her head.

"On one condition, I'll cook." Anne said with a smile, "we'll invite Owen and Cornelia, and Leslie, we can have everyone over." Anne said with a smile.

"Plus you can come and see how we're getting on." Gilbert said with a smile to his mother.

"Sounds lovely." Mrs Blythe said with a smile. "I love you."

* * *

Three weeks later Anne was sat crossed legged in front of the coffee table, Owen was sat opposite her as they were reading through the book Owen had written from Captain Jim's stories. Gilbert laid on the sofa the laptop on his ribcage as he sat reading his notes.

"Owen, this is extraordinary!" Anne exclaimed excited.

"Captain Jim story is extraordinary! I've just written it down." He said humbly.

Anne smiled and shook her head "always with being humble. Take the compliment." She said with gentle laugh as the doorbell rang.

"Oh," she said with an air of mischief that Gilbert knew she was up to something as she stood up and crossed the apartment "I wonder who that might be?" she said before she opened the door. "Leslie!" Anne exclaimed with a smile, "Do come in." Anne said as Owen jumped from the spot he'd been sitting in.

"Thank you Anne, I..." she paused midsentence as she saw Owen stood there. "Owen." She whispered.

He physically swallowed "Hello Ms Moore." He greeted her almost coldly.

"Did you know...?" Anne started as she linked arms with Leslie as they crossed the room, Gilbert's lips upturned seeing that Anne was trying to repair the damage which had been caused in their relationship, just by bringing them together "That Leslie and I have talked through so much since Richard's passing..." she paused for a moment before Leslie went to speak.

"Did you know?" she asked Owen.

"I knew." He confirmed.

She looked a little disappointed "I thought you might have come had you known he was gone?" she questioned.

"It would be inappropriate to attend a funeral of a man who I felt nothing but contempt for." He said practically.

"And what about..." she started but then paused mid sentence but added "Me?" she questioned.

"Another reason for it to be inappropriate for me to be there." He muttered.

"But Owen," Anne said softly "Did you know that we've made up?" she asked him. "she's told me all the things she said and what you said and did in return." Anne told him to which he looked to Anne.

"It wasn't right for anyone to get any perceived pleasure from your pain." Owen said.

"And your actions that day was one of a true friend." Anne said with a genuine smile to him, "Of all things you are Owen, it is that, you are a true friend indeed." Anne sighed and said "But, all the things she said to me, is known by me," Anne said slowly "and I've frankly forgiven her," Anne shrugged as she added "it seems a shame for her to pay twice for something said when she was hurting so much."

Owen looked up at first but as he looked at Leslie his countenance changed from someone trying to hold onto a grudge to a gentler, kinder thought on his mind. "You've really made up?" he asked Leslie quietly.

"You were right." Leslie confirmed after a nod, "I was being resentful, and cruel." She admitted quietly.

Owen straighten slightly "then, I suppose, it was Anne and Gilbert you wronged, if they can forgive, then I ought to."

Anne smiled at the patch up before she said "Let me get you both a drink." She said before she turned and walked over to the kitchen.

Gilbert looked to Leslie and Owen the latter of which offered the former a seat before his full attention was on her, he grinned then cranked his head far enough back to see Anne in the kitchen, he stood up and walked over to the kitchen his arms wrapping around her. "You're sweet." He whispered in her ear.

"Is it working?" she whispered back to which they both looked over their shoulder to see the pair talking quietly. Anne turned and hugged into Gilbert "Oh what if there were some happiness to come out of all of this!" she exclaimed to him softly.

Gilbert's arms wrapped around her as she hugged in and his lips upturned to a soft smile. "After every storm, there is a rainbow..." He said wistfully and as he held her closer he whispered to her "...you're mine."


	69. A&G of Prince Edward Island Chap 33

**Hi everyone!**

 **Part of this chapter has only very recently been written, a good part of it actually part of this chapter was meant to be with the next chapter but making up a full chapter. But, I'm glad I've written in what I have, The whole start with Captain Jim was only just written in, but I think it was needed to be in, so we could learn more about this Captain Jim and he could start playing a bigger part in Anne and Gilbert's life.**

 **Yes, so most of this chapter is the 'almost not' chapter.**

 **Thank you for all the reviews, I know its a long story and you're all patience with me, hopefully I'm making it worth your while.**

 **love**

 **Carrots x**

* * *

"Hello Anne." Captain Jim said to her as she opened the door.

"Captain Jim!" Anne said with a smile, "What a lovely surprise!" she exclaimed softly "what can I do for you?"

"Not what you can do for me, but what I can do for you." He said. "I know that Doctor Blythe is out making up some hours, Mrs Blythe has gone home, I know Cornelia is busy with, well life along with Mrs Leslie." He acknowledged "thought you might like the company?" he asked Anne.

"If by company you mean yours I'd much rather have it than be alone," said Anne, smiling. Then she sighed. "its funny I never before minded being alone. Now I dread it. When I feel alone now I feel so dreadfully alone." She sighed "Makes me want for Gilbert more, when we're together we're not alone in it, but I can't..." she trailed as they sat.

He nodded looking out at the open window "Its a nice view up here, we don't get this view on the bottom floors." He admitted "Give you plenty of scope to dream."

 _Oh-dreams," sighed Anne. "I can't dream now, Captain Jim-I'm done with dreams."_

 _"Oh, no, you're not,_ Anne _-oh, no, you're not," said Captain Jim meditatively. "I know how you feel_ just _now-but if you keep on living you'll get glad again, and the first thing you know you'll be dreaming again-thank the good Lord for it! If it wasn't for our dreams they might as well bury us. How'd we stand living if it wasn't for our dream of immortality? And that's a dream that's bound to come true,_ Anne _._ You and your doctor, _you'll see your little Joyce again some day."_

"Will she be our baby? Will we know her? How shall we know her?" she asked. "You see Captain Jim, so many questions all running around my head, not knowing an answer to it."

He nodded understandingly "Did I ever tell you about my Maggie?

"No." Anne said quietly. "Who was she?"

He smiled "I suppose I can't stand the thought that once I'm gone, no one will remember her." He said thoughtfully. "She was my wife." He admitted. Anne's eyebrows shot up surprised "You're surprised, well you should be." He said with a wry smile. "We were married at eighteen, very young yes, but she was like yourself, she had no parents, but I met her at school and we were inseparable and in love. We were married only three months before she disappeared, and I spent months trying to find her." He said quietly He took a deep breath, "the police thought I might have killed her at first but with such lack of evidence, as there was none, it was soon dropped, but she disappeared, still to this day no one knows where she went." He told her "Lost, is what they called her." He said quietly. "To me, I suppose now, it was such a long time ago that it almost doesn't matter if she's alive anymore, more that she's found." He told Anne, "but she's alive in here." He said putting his hand over his heart.

"Captain Jim, why have you not told about her in your life book? Owen showed me his first copy." Anne asked him.

"I should." He nodded, "its hard to talk to people about her, you have to know loss to understand." He told Anne. "But I can't help but think Anne, even though I long ago left England, I'll find her sometime, Anne-I'll find her sometime, even if its not in this life . **She's waiting for me. I wish I could tell you just how she looked, but I can't. I've seen a fine, silvery mist hanging over the bar at sunrise that seemed like her-and then again I've seen a white birch in the woods back yander that made me think of her. She had pale, brown hair and a little white, sweet face, and long slender fingers like yours,** Anne, only browner. **Sometimes I wake up in the night and hear the sea calling to me in the old way, and it seems as if lost Margaret called in it. And when there's a storm and the waves are sobbing and moaning I hear her lamenting among them. And when they laugh on a gay day it's** ** _her_** **laugh-lost Margaret's sweet, roguish, little laugh.** The world **took her from me, but some day I'll find her.** Anne, **It can't keep us apart forever.** "

"I am glad you have told me about her," said Anne. "I have often wondered why you had lived all your life alone."

" **I couldn't ever care for anyone else**. Lost Maggie, **took my heart with her-out there,** " he admitted "much like you and the doctor." He said with a smile. "It must have pulled at his heart, loosing your baby, and almost you." He said to Anne to he could tell was pondering his words "don't go forgetting him."

* * *

It was a couple of hours later Gilbert came back home, delighted Anne had company he talked to Captain Jim for a while before Captain Jim took his leave.

Anne watched Gilbert for a second before she said to him "Captain Jim told me of his loss today." Before she proceeded to tell him the story of lost Maggie. "Do you suppose you ever get over loss?" she asked Gilbert.

"No." Gilbert said shaking his head, "I don't think you do, I don't think the pain really goes." He admitted. He looked at her and asked "what kept you going?" he questioned as she looked up surprised at the question "those couple of weeks I shut down, what kept you going?" he asked.

She sighed and thought before she answered "everything had spiralled out of control." She admitted "and my whole world was falling apart, I clung to the few things I had control over, school, work, funnily even the little amounts I was eating all of it what I could control I did, even if there was no reason to." She shrugged "I guess its why I continued to take my birth control pill." She admitted.

"Oh my god!" he exclaimed "my god we would have been unprotected!"

She chuckled slightly "We would have been if it was left to you!" she quipped then more seriously added "but I could control it, it was something else I could control." She confirmed.

He shook his head "just as well." He said shaking his head. "That would have been..." he trailed almost shivering.

"Heart wrenching." Anne finished for him. "Why did you stop?" she asked him.

He thought a moment before he confessed "I tried, I had tried to control, everything, those first few weeks, and it seemed like everything which I had tried to control, wasn't being controlled, I tried to control my own heartache through work, socializing, through stunts, through..." he swallowed and said quieter "anything other then talking about it." He admitted, "then then very thing which I thought I had succeeded in, the one thing I thought I had, you, you were gone, and I just, I couldn't get past the pain, I was blinded to time, to feeling I was stuck in that moment and I couldn't get past it." He told her looking at her sadly.

She slipped next to him, bringing his arm around her, her head to his chest. "We're making it through," she said quietly "aren't we?" she asked.

Gilbert kissed into her head "We are, my love." He told her "and I find, in her, and through her, our Joy, I find I love you more through it."

Anne smiled "As I do you."

* * *

"What are you working on tonight?" Anne asked him looking over his shoulder at his computer screen a few days later.

"Oh, my application for matching, well finishing it." He said his eyes not leaving the screen.

"Oh wow!" Anne exclaimed. "So soon?" she asked "You don't even get matched until March."

"I actually started the process before we lost Joy, luckily I was ahead of the game I already had my ERA in place, I just had to fill in my preference of residency, finish my personal statements which is what I've been doing it has to be in tomorrow."

Anne looked again at the screen "Paediatrics?" she questioned, looking at him.

He nodded looking to her for a moment "I did consider gynaecology, but it isn't just the child's development, its to do with the mother more and the field is very female orientated, for obvious reasons, I don't think too many women would be comfortable with a male doctor, which I understand, but I really wanted, after Joy, I really wanted to make a difference with smaller ones, I mean aren't they our future? Aren't they worth investing in?" he said to her.

"Very noble." Anne said with a smile. "But you know you won't get... how did Christine put it, 'all the glory and money of a surgeon'." Anne said with a smile.

"I never got into the medical field for that." He said with his lips pressed into a smile he knew she was teasing him "Its not a _bad_ wage."

Anne smiled "Its one of the reasons I loved you. You were wanting to be a doctor for all the right reasons, you want to help, when you told me there was no consideration of the money, and believe it or not you were worried you wouldn't achieve it." She said with a proud smile. He looked back into her eyes and she whispered "You're getting into paediatric for all the right reasons," she said gazing into his eyes "for the sweetest reason." She added, "and I love you for it."

He smiled back his head titled back onto the sofa his lips reached as she leaned over and kissed him on the lips. "And this is another reason why I love you so much too," he whispered "You're willing to let me do as I wish not what you wish."

"I wish for your happiness." She told him simply.

"And I yours." He confirmed.

"Just as well we find it in each other." She said with a chuckle.

"What you up to?" he asked her "school's not back in session yet." He said his head nodding to the laptop on her stomach.

"My new story." She said quietly.

He looked to her and smiled "its about time Anne Shirley!" he exclaimed.

"Oh shush!" she said her foot coming out and tapping his shoulder in reprimand playfully. "Its been an eventful year." She reminded him.

"I mean I'm glad you're writing again." He said to her honestly "between what happened with Joy, you working at the publishers and school you just seemed too busy to be following your passion." He said to her "I don't want that for you."

"Thanks," she said quietly. "It was always there, in the back of my mind, just I hadn't really stopped long enough do anything." She admitted. "They've been very understanding at the publishing house." She admitted.

"They should be!" he exclaimed.

"And school?" she said looking at him.

Gilbert took a deep sigh "I'm lucky even to still be at medical school." He said quietly.

"Well they all love you, they don't want you to fail." She reminded him.

"I know." He agreed, "I've just seen people drop out for being behind less then two weeks..." he trailed.

"But you were ahead by at least that, all the work all the experience, all the tests all the hours you were ahead in." She said to him "which by the way I don't know how you manage."

He shrugged and looked at his laptop again "Extra hour here or there, is neither here nor there at the time, but add them up."

She smiled "this is nice." She said quietly "just us, just being us."

He grinned "Can you believe it?" he asked her, "we're doing it, all the things which were just plans all those years ago..." he trailed.

"And we're doing it together." She added.

"How else was my future going to be?" he asked her playfully, she chuckled then turned her attention back to the computer screen.


	70. A&G of PEI Chap 34- Reunion

**Another week has gone by and I can't quite believe its been a week! Life has been so crazy so one day just blended into the next, I hope the worse of it is over but we shall see!**

 **I know people have questions and I wish I could tell you the answers all at once but sometimes it would mean spoilers and I don't know if you would want them! But I love this chapter, it gets steamy! Literally!**

 **love**

 **Carrots x**

* * *

"Surprise!" the person on the other side of the door said as Anne opened it.

"Ruby!" Anne exclaimed.

"Guess who I found!" Josie said with a smile to Anne as they came in the door.

"Spence." Anne said with a smile to him "Gilbert will be glad to see you."

"Thanks Anne." He replied.

"What are you guys doing back? Last I heard you were in Australia?"

"We were." Ruby said.

"And the nineteen hour flight just enticed us back." Spencer said with a grin.

"Spence?" Gilbert was heard coming out of the bedroom his eyes lit up as he saw the other male in the room. "Oh my God I thought that was you?!" he exclaimed crossing the room the two males crossed half handshake half hug made the girls grin as they sat down Ruby observed

"I can't believe you live in this fancy apartment Anne. This is what education gets you!" She said quite envious.

"I can't believe you're travelling the world! That's what experience gets you." Anne exclaimed.

"Yet you still come back to cold Canada?" Gilbert half teased.

"That's what I said." Spencer said with a look to Ruby.

"I may have travelled the world over but I've never seen a sight more beautiful then home." She proclaimed. "Plus the world will still be there in a couple of weeks, when we fly back out." She assured Spencer.

"What brought you back?" Anne asked.

There was a silence in the room before Ruby admitted "Well, you and Gil." She said quietly.

A recognition dawned on Anne's face.

"I'm so sorry." Ruby said quietly, I didn't even know you had been pregnant until my mother told me and then she said you lost the baby over what five months ago!" she exclaimed "it devastated me I couldn't even be a friend and be here for you!" she exclaimed.

"No, no don't be." Anne said to her taking her by her hands to reassure her "trust me, not even Diana could make it down here, but we've skyped and she wishes she could come and see me..." Anne trailed.

"Well two babies of her own makes it hard to do." Josie admitted.

"Its how it is." She said with a shrug.

"I'll admit I had no idea how to approach it." Josie told her "Honestly all the theoretical training in the world can't prepare you for real life." Josie admitted "I'm sorry."

"So so Sorry." Ruby emphasised.

"Don't be." Anne said. "There's not much you or anyone else could have done." She said Anne took a deep sigh. "Now if you want to see we have pictures." She said quietly. "She really was a gorgeous baby."

"Oh my gosh!" Ruby exclaimed "I would love to!" she said as Anne got up to get her laptop and all the papers they had kept together for Joy.

"How are you doing man?" Spencer asked Gilbert.

Gilbert gave a deep sigh and said "Its not as physical with me." Gilbert admitted.

"No." Spencer agreed. "it doesn't mean emotionally it wasn't hard." He said.

Gilbert nodded "its hard, sorting through it all." He admitted "both of our feelings mine and Anne's, it was all hard work..."

"But you are doing it together, aren't you?" he asked.

There was a silence in the room as even the girls listened to the answer "Yes." He confirmed.

"We are doing it together." Anne confirmed sitting back down. "it was bumpy for a while but we're working through it." She looked around at the small group of friends "It almost feels like Avonlea." She said with a smile to them "but where are my manners, does anyone need a drink?"

With a couple of sounds in the positive Anne moved into the kitchen where she was closely followed by Ruby.

"Is there something wrong Ruby?" she asked.

"My sister had a miscarriage you know, a couple of years back," Ruby told her to which Anne looked to her surprised. "She and her husband were madly in love until that point then everything seemed to fall apart." She continued "she told me that they never made love after loosing the baby and she thought that is what contributed to their divorce." She told Anne.

"Oh?" Anne asked concerned "I am sorry for her Ruby."

"Have you been intimate since loosing Joy?" she asked quietly.

Anne flushed for a moment "Um, well, we did once..." she trailed uncomfortably. "Sort of." She said quietly, "It was reassuring it was intimate it was..."

"Not passionate?" Ruby asked.

Anne thought for a moment and said "No I don't think you could call it that." She admitted. "But Ruby its surely healthy that we're not rushing back into it this soon..." Anne trailed.

"I would just hate to see all that passion lost, and its been what five months?!" She exclaimed "No one, and I mean no one has it like Gilbert and you." She said with a smile.

"Its not like that." Anne said thoughtfully. "Our intimacy isn't in sex, we're intimate in many other ways, sex is just an extension or an expression of it."

"Just..." Ruby said thoughtfully "Don't wait too long, I think that's what happened with my sister." She said quietly.

Anne smiled and gave her friend a hug before the doorbell rang. They watched as Gilbert cross the apartment and open the door where Cornelia, Leslie and Owen stood. Gilbert greeted them by name and a smile "we were just having a little Avonlea reunion." Gilbert told them.

"We don't mean to intrude." Leslie said quietly.

"No, no." Anne said to her, "Don't be silly, you've met Josie before this is Ruby and Spencer."

We we're just about to bring up some footage of high school." Josie said with a smile, something she had clearly been talking to Gilbert about. "I have a ton of it." She smiled.

"Oh, the doctor and Anne, lets see then." Cornelia said with a flash grin to them.

Josie cast the video from her phone onto the television and up came some younger versions of themselves.

"Anne!" Cornelia exclaimed as Anne came over putting the glasses down with Ruby's help "You look exactly the same! Except..." she smiled "whats with the grunge look?"

Anne sat next to Gilbert his arm going around her.

"Your hair!" Leslie exclaimed, "Oh Anne! How could you straighten your hair like that!"

Anne chuckled "My hair has a lot more curl in it now." She smiled as Gilbert played with it for a moment.

"Beautiful." Gilbert said to her sentimentally.

"And the clothes?" Ruby asked as Cornelia took a sip of her drink, "You changed an awful lot that summer you went away with Gilbert."

That seemed too much for Cornelia when her water went spraying out of her mouth across the room. "What!?" she exclaimed almost choking.

"We won the school elections we were head and vice of the student council we went away for a month together for a bunch or politically motivated speakers for a month!" she said gabbing Gilbert in the side gently.

"What?" he asked "we had fun didn't we?" he asked her his brows playing with her.

"What does this have to do with a wardrobe change?" Cornelia asked.

"Well I thought with meeting politicians and such like my outfits should be a bit more smart and formal I mean not suits or anything just a bit more girly." Anne sighed "And Gilbert may have complimented me once or twice about..." she trailed and smiled at him "...everything."

"So he really was in love with you from day one?" Leslie asked.

Gilbert grinned for a moment before Ruby exclaimed "Oh see for yourself!"

 _With that the younger Gilbert appeared on the screen. "Sorry I'm late everyone, Coach needed a quick word which ended up being a bit longer then a quick word." With that said the younger Gilbert looked at the camera "Josie what's with the camera?" he asked._

 _"For my media project, its about 'what is popular?' I thought you would be the perfect subject!" The Younger Josie flirted behind the camera,_ with that said both Gilbert and Anne burst out laughing while the adult Josie blushed wildly.

"Oh my God!" Josie said lowly.

The younger Gilbert rolled his eyes and said something to the younger Charlie unheard.

"What did you say?" Ruby asked Gilbert.

"That she's be better off with him." Gilbert grinned pointing at the younger Charlie "a sentiment I stick by."

 _"Fine, just don't let it interfere." The younger Gilbert said "Right the debate today, Charlie, I believe you are the chair judge today," to which he got a nod from the younger Charlie "Topic: should all bathrooms be gender neutral as to not discriminate against people of transgender or of other gender preferences." The younger Gilbert started. "Today is draw of luck..." he said a small smile appearing on his younger lips as the pieces of paper were being passed around._

"What's so funny?" Anne asked the now Gilbert.

"Well its draw of luck right? Kind of ironic isn't it, do we or don't we get to choose our sex, its genetic? So is gender different? Or social constrains? Is that a draw of luck or something deeper then that?" he said with a grin to her.

 _"Fors on this side of the room, againsts on this side." The younger Gilbert said as the room reorganised itself. The dissatisfied look of the younger Anne when she noticed that she was going to be on the same side as Gilbert this week._ Something which again made Gilbert chuckled holding her closer and whisper "I got you!" he teased.

 _The two teams started to prepare where upon it was seen that Anne was talking with quite some passion on her side. The camera however was focused on the nearby Gilbert. The younger man listening intently to begin with, taking down a few notes as she spoke._

"Look what happens." Josie said to Ruby with a knowing smile.

 _Because of the distance you couldn't see what Gilbert said which seemed to infuriate the younger Anne but she quickly snapped at him about it and with the snap the younger Gilbert looked down into his notebook with a smile on his face a look of admiration on his face, with a soft look of love blushing from him, before he looked up at her when she looked away with the exact same look on his face._

"Awwwww!" was the collective response of everyone in the room as they turned and looked at the now Gilbert, the same look blushing from his face as his eyes was only on Anne.

"He still looks at you that way." Owen said with a smile.

"So when was this?" Leslie asked.

"Junior year," Anne replied, "Oh and I hated Gilbert, or maybe was this after Christmas?" Anne asked.

Josie backed up the video looking at the date of it "Yes." She confirmed. "Why is the date important?" Josie asked.

"After Christmas, I knew I no longer hated him, I still acted as though I did, he wasn't my friend, but..."

"You didn't hate me?" Gilbert asked her surprised.

Anne shook her head, "After the Christmas dance, when you saved me from Charlie." She confirmed. "I didn't know it, at the time, I mean I suppose it was long before then in reality, but with you having done that for me, I knew I couldn't be angry anymore."

Gilbert's breath caught "I didn't know that." He said to her.

"Oh I have that!" Josie exclaimed, "the Christmas Dance, junior year I have it! I had Marcus take camera shots for the year book."

Anne smiled "That's how you did it!" she smiled "I wondered."

Sure enough she brought up the dance "it was the sweethearts dance right?" she asked moving it forward in time, where a lot of people could be seen the camera not focused on Gilbert and Anne but it couldn't be helped to be seen when Josie's foot stomped on the floor, the adult Josie still looking embarrassed by her past behaviour.

"Wow Josie that dress!" Cornelia exclaimed.

"I know!" She exclaimed. "Oh my god I look like a hooker!" she exclaimed.

"No!" Anne objected "no it was just a little... revealing." She tried.

"No wonder you didn't want to dance with me." Josie said to Gilbert, "Although why did you go to Anne?" she wondered.

"The song is important." Gilbert cut in, "I knew she would have a hard time with it, I thought that if Charlie made his moves on her it would only make it worse."

"He came to save me." Anne said with a smile.

When the camera swung back in the direction of Anne and Gilbert it could be seen that he was holding her against him her face unseen but the hug was quite visible. For a brief few seconds the younger Gilbert's eyes fluttered shut, a relaxed look appeared on his face followed by a deep breath in.

The Anne in the room looked to Gilbert again "You look so relaxed." She said sadly, truth was it had been a while since he had looked like that.

"I had you in my arms, course I was." He said squeezing her now.

"There are a ton of these!" Josie exclaimed happily. "Ohhh this one!" she said, casting the next video to the screen.

"Oh," Gilbert said recognising it immediately "Graduation Prom." He said with a grin. "God, Anne." He said looking at the image of the younger Anne on the screen "You were stunning that night." He said to her and with it the young Anne on the screen greeted the younger Gilbert on screen and for the first time Gilbert saw the way younger Anne looked at him while the younger him had put on the homemade corsage. Everyone's eyes in the apartment looked at the pair with a knowing grin.

"I think its well established we're in love." Anne said in reply to the looks. Gilbert beamed and kissed her satisfied on the cheek.

* * *

The apartment quiet everyone had left for the evening Gilbert stepped into a steamy shower, he felt as though the cares of the day needed washing away. He closed his eyes allowing the heated water to both bounce and absorb into his skin, he was surprised, (mostly because he didn't hear the shower door open) by a small soft white pair of hands touching first his back then a set of arms snaked around him, he turned around his bare torso now pressed against his, he only just visually confirmed it was Anne, before he felt her lips on his, his eyes shutting again enjoying the embrace, his hands reaching round her waist resting on her lower back.

"Can we be them for tonight?" she asked him as he looked up surprised "you be high school Gilbert and I be high school Anne." She asked kissing into his neck, the sensation sizzled through his veins the tingling shivered him despite the heat "without all the hang ups." She said with a grin.

"Then you wouldn't be her." He said lowly before he gasped at her coming to her tiptoes, resting their hips close to the others "Ahh!" he gasped "Oh love I love it when I can feel your hips against mine!" he exclaimed "I could have really done with _this_ back then!" he chuckled.

She pulled back with a giggle and looked him in the eyes. "Can we?" she asked him softly which got an immediate bodily response from him. Something which made her grin her feet coming down her lips trailing across his chest her hand smoothing over the newly inked art, she paused and smiled softly at it before she felt his hand cupping her breast his fingers likewise smoothing at her ink, he looked into her eyes and said

"I do want to." He admitted with a grin, "I was starting to think we could easily leave the sex out, just leave it to one side and forget about that sort of intimacy, not that its what I want, and yes I do want to but..."

"It would be easier." Anne nodded agreeing. "I want you, but then I think about Joy..." her fingers at his ink again "...and its still hard."

Something which Gilbert nodded to, "but then I'm a selfish being and I think..." he said with a grin before they kissed slowly and romantically again "Where did this come from?" he asked her sweeping strands of hair from her face back into the water to join the rest of her hair, dampening down to curls.

"You." She whispered. Before she clarified "Seeing the Gilbert you were in high school and how much you really have loved me from the start, and seeing it develop, just through high school, not even into college, seeing it start, then the other day Captain Jim, he talked about losing Maggie, and I thought how scared you would have been, having just lost Joy then almost me, and I thought how I would feel if I lost you tomorrow and we never had sex again" she shrugged, "I wanted to..." she blushed for a moment trailing.

"Make love?" Gilbert questioned.

Anne sighed whispering "Yeah."

He smiled and kissed into her wet shoulder before he whispered "this feels like that first shower we took together," he said to her "do you remember?" he asked.

She laughed "How could I forget." She admitted "our first." She grinned wrapping her arms around his neck rest on his shoulders "that was a um," she flirted "pretty good weekend."

"Oh only pretty good?" he smiled pining her playfully against the screen of the shower.

"Maybe I need reminding." She flirted more.

His smile brightened to the point where his dimples were showing, for the first time Anne could remember. "I wouldn't change a thing," he said quietly "I think you need to know it more often Anne-Girl," he continued "I think you need to know that I would still fall in love with you, I would still wait for two years, I would still go on that climb I would still fall deeper in love with you, I would still move in with you, I would still get you pregnant, I will still stay," he whispered "because I love you." He told her "I don't say it enough."

Anne climbed up him, Gilbert in sync lifted her, Her arms went around his neck her legs around his waist. "I love you too." She whispered "and me too, I'd do it all again, if it meant I got to be with you, I'd do it all again."

"You want to make love?" he asked her softly.

"Yeah." She confirmed.

"To me?" he clarified holding her tighter so she could feel the reaction he was having.

Which only made Anne giggle "Yes to you, although the Gilbert in high school was pretty hot..." she trailed her teeth biting into her bottom lip.

"Oh?!" Gilbert replied surprised.

"Shut up!" She teased him "You _knew_ you were hot!"

"Well I just went from pretty hot to hot in five seconds..." He said with a joking tone and a cocky smile "I wonder what I am today?" he baited her his hands playing at her backside.

She leaned forward and kissed his firmly her fingers massaging into his scalp trailing back and forward until she finally pulled away looked him in the eyes and answered his question as hot as the water. "Mine."


	71. A&G of PEI 35-Review and Recovery

**The Wanderer returns!**

 **Special thanks to Jxuan, the PM was appreciated. Many of you know I write a few chapters ahead all the time, along with it being difficult to write, since mid August there has been someone ill in my house in one way or another, everyone except me, but it has been I've been serially tired beyond belief, a lot of things I've had to do on my own, and its nearing Christmas time and traditionally what we see as half way through the school year (although I think its a little before) but I can't quite believe it is because I've not had those moments to myself I normally have. My littlest one is intent on hurting himself or wrecking the place or both, I love him to piece and he's so loving and gorgeous, but it doesn't make it easier, it makes it worth it but no easier, when people have been well I've been having trouble sleeping just because I'm constantly worried about whats going to happen next... I make it very hard on myself, but I don't know if I'm going to be ill next or if I'm ill but just so focused on everything else, I don't notice... Its hard. As such this has been the last thing I wanted to do, because everything else took priority and so it should its real life and I have to deal with it, but this morning I got done more or less what I wanted to do so I had some time to look over this and to get started on the future chapter I wanted to get started on before I published this one.**

 **Thank you as well to everyone who has commented its always appreciated, I do take the time to read them and you're all so kind. Time moves on so quickly so I don't want to seem ungrateful to you all. Aureliecoud thank you your compliments really mean a lot. Honestly Montgomery gave such rich characters we see through things like Green Gable Fables, Project Green Gables, Anne with an E (not all of these I like but I respect them for trying to explore these characters more), these characters can easily transcend their original setting and we can explore the different themes presented in both a modern context and a traditional one, the themes I believe don't grow old because they are relevant in the human condition. I do love watching my Gilbert and Anne grow and learn in particular, and there are things coming up (and things relating to what has happened already) which shows cause and effect, effect and growth.**

 **I've had as well reviews on some of my other stories, and I love them! Thank you!**

 **Anyway enough with my yabbering,**

 **hope you all enjoy**

 **love**

 **Carrots x**

* * *

"I have some good news." Anne said with a smile to him as she kissed him on the head as she came into the apartment.

"Oh?" Gilbert asked her looking away from his computer screen.

"I was called into the Chief editors office today," she said with a smile removing her jacket and sitting on the cuddle chair. "They asked me if I wanted to apply for a senior editors job based on the articles I've written."

Gilbert's eyes widened as he smiled "Anne! That's fantastic!" he exclaimed jumping up and hugging her. "What did you say?"

"Well I wanted to be sure that the hours were still compatible with my MA." She said "I still have the rest of this year to go." She said calmly as they sat again this time on the cuddle chair together his arms wrapping around her.

"Is it?" he asked.

"The good news is, I would only need to be in the office for 20 hours during the working week, the rest I could e-mail, even work in the office at a later time if I wanted to." She said logically. "I'd get two junior editors working under me and I would still have the chance to submit my own work, both articles and books, less leg work around launch parties, I'd only have to turn up." She admitted her face and eyes clearly trying to work through something.

"Yet, you look like you're not sure about it?" Gilbert questioned.

"I don't know, I mean its better then a junior, just is it what I want to do?" she questioned.

"Well you want to be a writer." He confirmed.

"I want..." she said her brow furrowing, "I want to be able to support us. I mean what happens when you finish all your training, we aren't going to be able to stay here." She admitted matter of factly. "and what about if you move hospitals with the matching next year?" she asked.

"Then you'll get a job at another publishing house."

"That's just it." She said. "its a _job_." She admitted "Not what I set out to do."

Gilbert sighed. "Anne you're thinking too far ahead, we've only just started this term and they aren't going to kick us out of the apartment anytime soon I still have my year in being an intern and then at least 4 years before I'm out of my residency." He said "which gives you plenty of time to map out your dreams while we're still here." He said "that's if we stay here." He said to her "Do you have something else in mind?" he asked her.

She blushed at him for a second before she said quietly "I was thinking of going for my teachers certificate." She said quietly, Gilbert did a double take before a smile appeared on his lips "I know I could look into the presidential scholers award, I know I would qualify for it but I would still need to find $10,000, I could have the money saved within this year. I wouldn't need to take a break at all."

"Then Anne-Girl, what are you moping about, it sounds like you have a plan already?" he asked her.

"I'm not moping!" she objected before she said quieter "what if I can't do it?" she asked him.

Gilbert looked to her perplexed "Is that self doubt in _my_ Anne?" he asked her.

"Its that there's two of us now." She said sternly "And you know I'm right in being concerned, what if that becomes three or four or five..."

"Steady on girl!" he exclaimed a cheeky look on his face "Give me a chance!"

"Gil, I'm being serious!" she exclaimed.

"And so am I!" he reassured her. "We'll do what we planned with Joy." He reminded her. "we had that all planned out, and remember there's no point in worrying about the future if we aren't going to build the one we want now." He reminded her hugging her in. "we build our future together, _our_ dreams together. Not just mine." He said then with a grin admitted "but if your going to be a teacher, that would more then pay for a nanny we'd still have some money for us." He said, there was a silence between the pair before he asked "would you keep on writing?" he asked her.

"I'd like to yes, I mean I know I would need to plan my lessons, and take care of our babies once they came along." She said logically, something which make him react beneath his trousers which made her chuckle. "You really believe I can do anything, don't you?" she asked him.

"You Anne Shirley can do anything you want." He said with a smile.

"So," she said slowly "I take the job?" she questioned.

"I think so, you can work all the way up until your training begins." He said with a smile to her.

"Wow!" she exclaimed kissing him lightly "This is crazy!" she whispered "all of this grown up stuff!" she said to him.

He looked to her softly and asked "It scares you?"

"Its terrifying!" she chuckled. "But its why we're together."

* * *

"Anne?" Her editor in chief came to Anne's door looking in "How are you liking it?" she asked Anne.

"Oh Yasmin!" Anne exclaimed "its incredible! I can't believe I have my own office!" she said "and have you seen the view?" she asked her.

Yasmin looked out the window, "its the street?" she questioned.

"not just the street, but all those people's stories, so much scope for the imagination!" she said.

"I'm glad you think so." She admitted. "Are you ready to come into the interviews with me?" she asked Anne. "We have our first candidate here."

"All ready." Anne said with a smile to her editor.

"I think this one you'll like Anne," Yasmin said to her. "She's almost as you were when you first came in for the first editing of your book."

Anne cringed "So under-qualified that its scary to think I was ever published in the first place?" Anne asked.

"No!" Yasmin said laughing with Anne. "No, just a diamond in the rough." She said as they left the office and turned the corner into the main office when there junior editors sat. "and look how you turned out, a year here already on the fast track, you could go further the moment you graduate." Yasmin hinted.

"I know, and believe me the compliment is appreciated." Anne smiled. "Beside a senior editor after a year, I'd say it was pretty fast." She smiled.

"Oh you were by far the brightest writer and editor in that room, you knew how to do it, how do you think you got published so fast?"

"I'll admit at the time it didn't feel so fast, but looking back now..." she said shaking her head.

"Well lets see how this interview goes?"

With that they opened the door to the interview room, the words Yasmin spoke seemed to blur into insignificance, her jet black hair and deep black eyes seemed to penetrate her every wits as Anne went pale.

"Anne?" Yasmin asked her.

"Sorry." She said shaking her head.

"This is Katherine Brooke." Yasmin repeated herself.

Anne cleared her throat as she sat down "I'm familiar with her, Katherine is on my course at university."

Katherine looked equally pale at Anne, "This is the publishing house you have a job with?" she asked Anne.

"That's right." Anne said focusing on Katherine's CV in front of her.

"Anne will be the senior editor you'll be reporting to." Yasmin said looking between the two. "If you're successful in your application." Yasmin looked again between the two and asked Anne "Is there a problem?"

"What was I meant to say Gilbert?" Anne asked as she paced back and forward that night recounting the interview to him. "Whatever problem I have with Katherine would sound completely unprofessional!" she exclaimed.

"Is she qualified?" Gilbert asked looking for a way out of the situation.

"Annoyingly so, and she did better then any of the other candidates on the test piece." Anne said rubbing her head and finally sitting next to Gilbert "Yasmin said it was up to me, my two juniors would be mine, and objectively, Katherine would be ideal."

Gilbert sighed putting his arm around her "Your past experiences make you very subjective though..." he reminded her, her head shot up to object but before she said anything he continued "Now that's not a bad thing, you'd be a fool if you stuck your hand in a fire twice." He said with a grin.

Anne chuckled knowing the story his mother loved to share of him. He was three years old and had figured out how to use the baby gate. The first time Mrs Blythe had assumed she had just forgotten to shut the gate, so when Gilbert went to the open fireplace and burnt his hand the first time she had blamed herself. The second time the very next day (Mrs Blythe had ensured the baby gate was shut before she turned her back for a minute) when she looked again the baby gate was open she ran in the room to find Gilbert already stuck his other uninjured hand in the fire. "You were three." Anne pointed out.

"Alright," Gilbert agreed, "but how about if you went back to the house of the man who abused you, or if you went back to Roy after everything that happened with him?" Gilbert asked.

"They would both be foolish." Anne admitted.

"Well," Gilbert continued "Somehow despite all the bad things which have happened to you, your instinct is to trust people, its a beautiful instinct and not one I'm calling foolish, but you know through experience not to put your preverbal hand into the fire again, and I think you're worried that if you let Katherine back in, she can hurt you." He said logically "And you know something? its true she could." He admitted "But in the real adult world we have to ask ourselves if we can work with people we don't like, it would show your strength in character if you chose to work with her, build up a professional relationship with her and see if friendship happens, if it doesn't well there's nothing lost."

Anne sighed and whispered "Its what she wants to do with her life you know, she wants to be a writer, an editor, a publisher, all of that side of things." She hugged closer into Gilbert "I would hate to deny her the opportunity to start her dreams. Maybe through editing she _could_ get herself published. She'd understand it all more."

Gilbert sighed and nuzzled into her.

In truth, had it been him, he wouldn't hire her, after how mean Katherine had been to Anne it would be justifiable not to hire. Something that always amazed Gilbert was Anne's lack of resentment. "You are too kind." He whispered.

"So says you." She said "I was pretty resentful towards you once upon a time." She reminded him.

"So I must have really hurt you for you to behave like that." He whispered.

"But don't you see? I missed a whole year of our friendship..." she started

"It was 8 months." Gilbert grinned.

"It was far too long, look at what I missed out on." She flirted.

He shrugged "We made up for it."

Anne sighed "Maybe, I can't ever control Katherine's behaviour towards me, but I can choose how I act towards her, maybe this will help make up for the way I behaved."

* * *

There was a knock on Anne's door and she looked up as she said to come in.

"I've finished these." Katherine told Anne as she handed her the papers.

"Thank you." Anne said, she started scanning the paper before she looked up "is there anything else?" Anne asked her.

Katherine stood silent for a moment before she spoke "Do you forgive me?" Katherine asked Anne. "You giving me this job, does it mean you've forgiven me?"

"My opinion of you has never mattered before Katherine, I wonder why it should start now?" Anne asked her, Anne's eyes returning to the paper.

"Because I know you better now." Katherine told her. "I've stopped making assumptions and I thought since you gave me this job..." she trailed.

"I gave you this jobs because you're over qualified and aced that test piece." Anne told her. "I judged you on your merits not your faults."

Katherine sighed heavily "Then..." she trailed.

"I don't know." Anne said honestly, "Katherine I simply don't know, but I can hardly give you a fair chance if I consistently reject you. It would make me no better then your worse."

"Then you know it was my worse?" Katherine asked her, "You know that's not the best of me?" she asked Anne.

Anne looked at the paper and then looked at Katherine "I can't see any faults." She sighed before she looked up and said to her "it would be unfair to judge a book based on an unedited version of a final piece." She said.

Katherine looked to her hopefully. "Yes, yes it would."

Anne swallowed "Our stories..." she trailed and looked to Katherine thoughtfully "are not yet complete, there is still time for the true characters of Wickham and Darcy to show. I don't know if its forgiveness yet," Anne admitted quickly "its one thing to attack me, but that day, when you were as mean as to attack my baby..." Anne trailed quietly.

"I didn't know." Katherine responded, "I didn't know you'd been pregnant, I never would have..." she trailed "I didn't know there was a baby to loose!"

"Did there _have_ to be a baby at all?" Anne asked her. "People are battling invisible demons every day Katherine, things you can't see or hear, touch or smell but they _feel_ them Katherine, they are _felt_."

"I _know_." Katherine admitted, "I never thought someone so content would..." she stopped "all I can find are excuses Anne, excuses to the way I behaved but the truth is I was being prejudice." She told her. "I wish I had behaved differently."

Anne nodded and said thoughtfully, "then lets see where we can take this relationship, maybe we might learn to like each other."

* * *

Anne opened the door delighted to find Owen and Leslie standing there.

"What a surprise!" Anne greeted them.

"We wanted you to be the first to know..." Leslie exclaimed a smile on her face. "Oh Anne!" she bounded to Anne hugging her.

Anne looked over Leslie's shoulder to Owen and mouthed "together?" to which Owen nodded.

"Oh Anne!" she exclaimed. "Oh can we come in?" she asked Anne.

"of course." Anne replied opening the door to them. "so," she said with a grin taking a seat "do tell all?" she asked of them.

"It just happened last night," Leslie said taking his hand in hers. "You see I was going to sell the apartment, to look for somewhere else, somewhere which didn't have Richard's claim on it at all." She admitted. "but Owen had came around and he suggested making it my own, just ridding everything starting from scratch, since it is my home, it was never Richard's I own it." She admitted, "and he stayed and we talked and we..." she trailed blushing.

"I don't think I need to hear it!" Anne chuckled. "Oh Owen!" she exclaimed looking to him "Gilbert will be so pleased for you, he's a romantic at heart you know."

"I do hope so." Owen admitted.

"Oh he'll be thrilled!" Anne said with a smile. "As am I!"

"Oh Anne, I've never felt this way before!" Leslie gushed. "When I was with Richard it was out of an act of rebellion, my parents didn't want me with him and I wanted to displease them, there was never much love involved, but this, this happiness!" she exclaimed. "Oh Anne I don't know if I can bare it!"

Anne giggled "Well that you must," Anne told her "or you must find a way of making it so Owen." She told her friend.

"Will you help me Anne?" Leslie asked her, "I have a lump sum for Richard's life insurance and I want to make the most of it, redoing my apartment up, so it is mine! Finally all this happiness can be mine!"

"I'll help in whatever way I can." Anne smiled.


	72. A&G of PEI 36- Let me make a proposal

**Some of you are hanging on edge for part of this chapter, lots of questions surrounding it... They were always heading this way!**

* * *

"Oh my God!" Mrs Blythe exclaimed as they opened the door to the apartment. "Look at my baby!" She exclaimed to Gilbert. "You almost look healthy again." She said to him.

"Gee, thanks." Gilbert said rolling his eyes at his dad behind her, as he spied the cake he was carrying.

"Just as well I brought some food." She said taking the Christmas cake off his father shoving it into Gilberts hands.

"Am I to eat this all now?" he said with a grin on his face.

"If you like." She said equally as cheeky "however that would leave no room for the mince pies I have in the car." She said to Gilbert knowingly, remembering a certain five year old boy sneaking a whole cake tin full of mince pies up to his room one year, needless to say the child had been since and forbidden to eat any of the new batch his mother had made. "Or the shortbread."

"You baking my favourite to ensure I eat?" he asked her with a grin "thank you." He said wrapping his arm around her bringing her in. Mrs Blythe seemed to ignore the decorations seeing a new item in the corner of the room.

"Well I'm not surprised your so skinny if you're using a treadmill." She huffed.

Gilbert sighed "you know where there's ice and snow outside its dangerous to run, we got it so we'd be safe."

"We?" She asked.

"Yes we," Anne said coming out of the bedroom with a smile on her face "I told you they would come early." She said with a smile to Gilbert.

"As ever you're correct. Just as well you knew love and you had everything ready any way." He said to Anne.

Anne crossed the room and kissed Mrs Blythe hello with a hug to John Blythe.

"You're looking better." Mrs Blythe observed.

Anne smiled "I feel it, thank you." She admitted. "Do you like the decoration?" she asked her parents in law.

They looked around "its very traditional." John observed. "You made a lot of them." He said.

"That _we_ did." Anne said with a smile "We thought we would start as we mean to go on and since we didn't come back to Avonlea this year..." She trailed with a smile.

"It would be our first official year spending Christmas together in our home," he said his eyebrows knitting slightly "So to speak."

"We had help, Leslie, Cornelia, even Owen and Captain Jim." She said with a smile.

"They've been coming often to spend time with Anne." Gilbert said with a smile.

"It's nice to have friends wherever we go." Anne admitted.

Mrs Blythe picked up a picture frame, in it held a picture of Anne, Gilbert and Joy, the parents looking towards the little baby, it was a picture one of the nurses took for them so they had a family picture.

Gilbert smiled "We thought by having her there she might still enjoy her first Christmas." He said to his parents.

John Blythe himself looked like he was about to burst into tears but held it together to say "That's beautiful son."

Mrs Blythe looked towards Anne with a comforting smile, "How is your second year Anne?" she asked her.

"Good so far." Anne acknowledged. "I must admit I am glad I took the course part time."

"What are you thinking of doing afterwards?" John asked her.

"I was thinking I could apply to do my teachers certificate." She said thoughtfully.

"On PEI?" Mrs Blythe asked hopefully.

"Maybe, it would depend on where Gilbert gets matched." She confirmed.

"You're going to follow him?" John asked.

Anne nodded sitting beside their son on the cuddle chair as they all sat down. "We've already decided that being apart after all we've been through to be together would be too hard." Anne admitted. "We just want to be together."

"And make a life for _us_." Gilbert said with a smile.

"Do you have the right qualifications to apply?" Mrs Blythe asked her.

"My tutor at university actually recommended I switch to a duel course, my major is English of course but it does qualify because of my duality as a BEd. I could qualify in a year." She told them honestly.

"Did you think you might want to be a teacher?" John asked her,

"No, not at the time, but I took a few extra modules and qualified, I'm glad I did now." Anne confirmed.

"She's going to have more letters after her name then you." John joked to his son, the only reply from Gilbert was a proud look on his face.

"Are you going to be home for Christmas?" Mrs Blythe asked her son.

He nodded, "My last year guaranteed, once I'm matched it'll be all rotation work in the hospital. But I am working right up until midnight."

"You're still behind I thought you were ahead?" Mrs Blythe asked her.

"I, just..." He trailed and looked at Anne for help.

"It's better to get all the observations you can get in, in before you get matched, the doctors really respect the extra time and effort put in." Anne confirmed. "we agreed since this will be our last guaranteed Christmas every opportunity around it should be had."

"Speaking of which..." he said with a grin and a kiss to his mother and then to his sweetheart, "I best be off." He said to them. He looked with a grin to his father "sorry, you don't get one." He said with a chuckle to his dad.

"I'll settle for a handshake." His father confirmed their hands coming out and with the quick side hug which was as hands on as they got Gilbert picked up his bag and headed out the door.

Mrs Blythe smiled at Anne "He's doing so much better." She finally admitted, before she looked to Anne "As are you Anne." She told her "You have some colour back in your cheeks."

"We're getting much better." Anne mused, "There's still days we have a hard time, but we have each other." Anne smiled at Mrs Blythe "We are so glad to have some of Avonlea with us this Christmas."

Mrs Blythe smiled "Marilla said you offered to have the whole clan."

"I miss home," she admitted "there's days that just Gilbert and I, it seems too quiet, especially when we were looking forward to the sounds of a baby." Anne admitted.

"I know but, Anne dear where would you put us all?" Mrs Blythe laughed.

"That was Marilla's argument." Anne admitted. "Although I do have family right here."

* * *

Christmas morning soon came and for Anne's Christmas present Gilbert insisted she get ready with coat on, Anne confused did as requested and was even more confused when he put a scarf round her eyes and they all headed out into the snow.

"Gil I feel ridiculous with this on." Anne said in a huff as they continued to walk, it had been a good five minutes since they left.

"We're nearly there." Gilbert said with a grin.

"Are your parents still with us?" she asked him.

"Yup." He revealed.

"Good, at least I know its nothing dirty." She said to him.

"Where would I be taking you?" he said with a chuckle.

"Well I don't know do I?" she asked which only made him laugh more.

"Okay, good, here." He said standing her still and pointing her in what she could sense as a very specific direction though she knew not where.

Anne could feel he moved in the direction she was pointing in before he said to her "Okay Anne you can take it off."

Anne removed the "blindfold" to find herself in Kings Park. Not just in Kings Park but they were right in front of where they had kissed all that time ago, except something had changed. She looked at the park bench with wide eyes she stepped forward reading the plague on it "Named for the _Joy_ she brought us" Along with her date of birth, Anne gasped and smiled. "Oh Gil!" she exclaimed.

"Its not just from me," he said "everyone chipped in, My parents, Marilla, Mrs Lynde, Davy and Dora, Fred and Diana, Phil and Jo, everyone contributed, we all wanted..." he trailed with a small smile "...something physical, somewhere special, where it all started." He said to her "sit on it." Gilbert said "be the first one, it was put in last thing last night and the gates have been locked ever since, the gardener had the keys to let us in."

She chuckled at the gesture looking at his parents for a moment before she said again "Oh Gil, its so beautiful!" she said sitting on it. "Its pine, oh you know I always find comfort in the pines!" she exclaimed, where his parents slipped off into the park for a walk about the place.

"I know." He said still standing acting a nervous still. "so um, there's one other thing." He said sitting beside her on the bench. "I have thought of a thousand ways to say this, each time more and more romantic, and each time I sounded so ridiculous." He said with smile. "So, I figured I just have to say it." He told her "This past year, has been such a rollercoaster." He said to her holding her hands in the moment "and I asked you something eleven months ago and I wonder, _If I ask it again today will you give me a different answer?"_ he asked her, she looked wide eyes to him again, for the second time today she was surprised, stunned beyond words. "I love you!" he proclaimed "and I know I wouldn't have made it through this year without you." He told her "and you know, I don't want to _make it_ through _any_ more years without you." He told her "I want _you_." He continued "I want you, I want you and I want a life with you I want our lives to be for each other, I want no doubt, no question." He said "and I don't want to face this world without you by my side." He said firmly, with this he kneeled in front of her and brought a small box out of his pocket he opened the box to look into her tear stained face her red eyes "Will you do me the honour of being my wife?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed before he could even gage what she was doing she leapt into his arms sending them both lying on the ground. Both of them burst in to laughter as they lay flat on the ground. "Sorry." She giggled.

"No," Gilbert said shaking his head. "No, this is bringing back some memories." He said with a grin, which made her blush into his coat. "Yes?" he asked her looking down into her eyes.

"Yes." She said with a smile, with that he brought them back to the bench sitting them there before he took the ring out of the box and he slipped it onto her finger.

"I knew it would fit." He said to her. "You know the 'Anne' my great great grandma, it was hers, modern women always seem to have such big fingers, it never fit my mother or my grandma." He said with a shrug "I knew it would fit you." He told her. "I hope you don't mind its not new..." he trailed as they brought themselves off the ground.

"No, No, I love it!" Anne exclaimed looking at it. "It makes me a Blythe, almost." She said with a smile "part of the family."

"You are." He told her "even if you never take my name," he said to her "Just like Joy is a Blythe."

"She is, she is!" Anne agreed. "And I will." She told him.

"You will?" he asked.

"Blythe, I want to take your name, its such a beautiful name, it means as it sounds, its about being Blythe, its an attitude, its why Joy's name was so perfect her whole name is joyful!" she said to her.

"I know, I remember." Gilbert said with a smile.

Anne sat back into his arms on the bench as he relaxed back popping his arm around her "Pearls, what a classy choice." She said with a grin. _"I've never really liked diamonds since I found out they weren't the lovely purple I had dreamed. They will always suggest my old disappointment."_

 _"But pearls are for tears, the old legend says," Gilbert objected._

 _"I'm not afraid of that. And tears can be happy as well as sad. My very happiest moments have been when I had tears in my eyes—when Marilla told me I might stay at Green Gables—when I heard that you were going to recover from_ your fall and of course **Now**." She said sniffing back her tears _"So give me pearls for our troth ring, Gilbert, and I'll willingly accept the sorrow of life with its **joy**."_

He smiled at her his lips in a grin his eyes in awe "You know this is the exact reason I love you so much Anne." He told her his nose rubbing with hers "You always are able to delightfully surprise me."

"You're one to talk." She said to him stroking the bench.

"I didn't want to move into the new year, especially after the year we've just had and not put right two things in the world, the first being no where to go to remember our daughter, as spot just for her, in this whole world just something for her, and secondly, especially after everything we've been through, I needed to let you know, just how much I love you." He kissed her bringing her closer to him as he deepened the kiss. Her newly ringed hand coming up stroking down his cheek before they broke away for a moment.

"I love you too." She whispered before they kissed again.

Mid kiss they sensed two pairs of eyes with expectant glints and eager faces attached to them. Gilbert chuckled when he looked at them, interrupting the romantic moment,

"So?" Mrs Blythe asked on edge.

Anne smiled revealing "I said 'yes'."

"Oh my God!" Mrs Blythe exclaimed breaking away from her husband, almost pushing past her son and hugging Anne. "I know you're already part of the family!..." she exclaimed "Oh but its wonderful its going to be official!" she exclaimed. "Oh did it fit?" she asked reaching for her hand, upon seeing it she nodded "you were right Gilbert, a perfect fit."

Gilbert grinned at his dad "She is that." He confirmed.

"Congratulations son." John said to him in a handshake hug.

"Thanks Dad." He said quietly.

"You make him happy Anne," he told her "I can see he does the same for you."

* * *

"Do you need any help in here Anne?" Phil asked her, as Anne was working in the kitchen, there was Christmas music playing in the background, Phil and Jo had arrived, along with Cornelia, Josh, Captain Jim, Owen and Leslie were all there, mingling amongst each other.

"Not from you." Anne joked.

"Well if that's what I get for offering help..." she said with a grin plopping down on a counter seat to talk to Anne. "Have you really done this on your own?" she asked her. "When did you have time to learn to cook?"

Anne smiled "I am Marilla Cuthbert's charge." She admitted "Marilla would have it no other way."

"You miss them?" Phil asked.

"I do," Anne admitted, "but, we're building a life and it means being away from our home for a while," she sighed heavily basing the turkey "I miss my godchildren, I miss seeing them grow, I wonder if Anne Cordy even remembers me being around! Though we do all talk over skype."

"Would it not hurt?" Phil asked "being around children?" she asked.

"I thought it might, at first." Anne admitted "but I think it would be a kind of balm, a happy and healthy child." She said with a shrug "watching them grow, it would be nice I think." She admitted.

"I'm glad you feel that way." Phil said her eyes meeting with Anne's.

Anne looked at her delighted "You're pregnant?!" she exclaimed "Oh Phil!" she said abandoning her turkey to hug her friend.

"Oh I was so worried, I didn't know if I should tell you or not!" Phil confided.

"Tell me!" Anne exclaimed pulling back "always _tell_ me!" she said "How far along are you?" she asked.

"I've just turned 13 weeks." Phil told her. "Oh Anne I wanted to say but then I got so nervous and worried you wouldn't want to know!"

"My sadness shouldn't dampen your happiness." Anne said to her sympathically. "Although I do understand your trepidation." Anne returned to her turkey basing it again "So it'll be the non alcoholic stuff for you." She said with a grin.

"Oh don't remind me!" Phil exclaimed. "But I think its worth it." She added quietly.

"It is." Anne said looking towards the picture of her tiny Joy "It really is."

Phil looked over at the little group of friends "This is a lot more like you." Phil said softly. "Lots of friends, lots of people around."

Anne took a deep breath putting the turkey back in the oven "it is." She admitted "its still an effort." She admitted. "But I'm glad we're trying." Anne said. "I don't think we were meant to be miserable."

She took out two wine glasses and filled one with the 'Christmas Cocktail' she had created and the other with apple cider and gave it to Phil. "So I say hurrah!" she said her little nose going into the air "Our worlds are going to be added upon Phil, I know it." Anne smiled.

"They will." Phil said with a smile. "And if you and Gil do get pregnant again..." she started.

"Not yet." Anne said shaking her head.

"No?" Phil asked.

"No," Anne confirmed shaking it. "Joy was unplanned, remember?" Anne told her. "I have plans and so does Gilbert." She admitted. "Although we were excited to have her add to our journey, I don't think we're ready to go back there just yet." To which Phil nodded her head.

Gilbert bounded over with a boyish smile on his face "How's that turkey going?"

"It'll be ready on time." Anne said to her sternly which made his smile drop "but you know your mother has brought plenty of food." Anne reminded him which made him smile "I'm sure it won't ruin your appetite."

"Yes mom." He mocked rolling his eyes but all the same reaching for the tin containing the shortbread biscuits.

"Phil was just telling me her and Jo are expecting." Anne told Gilbert.

He froze mid opening of the tin his mouth falling open in surprise. "Phil!" he exclaimed "that's wonderful!" he told her "congratulations!"

Phil smiled "Jo said you'd both take it well." She reflected.

"Well he's very good at reading people and how they'll react." Gilbert admitted. "He's a good man."

Phil sighed in a funny relief " I like him." She understated.

"How are you today Captain Jim?" Anne asked him a few minutes later sitting beside him to talk to him.

"Me?" he asked "As fine as I can be. You've done a lovely thing today here Anne." He told her, which made her smile.

"Thank you, its nice it have those we love around us." She admitted, she paused for a moment before she said "You told Owen of Maggie." She said with a smile.

He nodded, "it got me to thinking, our conversation, the more people who know, the more she can be remembered, even as a story, a myth, if it would bring comfort to someone else in the world, I think it would be worth it."

"I'm glad you told Owen about her," she admitted "as a writer I'll often draw inspiration from people I know." She admitted.

Captain Jim nodded "I'd imagine you've met all sorts." He told her.

"Not as many as you!" Anne chuckled.

"Ah but I've had longer." He countered.

"Not so much longer." Anne admitted. "Tell me more of England Captain Jim?" Anne asked of him "where's your favourite place?" he asked her.

"Ah its a little corner of the North of England that no one knows nor cares about, unless you came from there, but its the dearest place in the world to me..." he started.

* * *

Gilbert smiled watching Anne talk to Captain Jim as Josh came to sit next to him. "Penny for your thought." He joked.

Gilbert chuckled then looked at Anne again "she's formidable." He commented.

"Well she wouldn't be well suited to you if she wasn't." Josh told him.

Gilbert looked at Josh. "I can't thank you enough you know, we wouldn't be here if..." Gilbert started.

"You would have found your way back to each other." Josh told him "Phil and I just sped up the process so you didn't loose your space." Josh told him.

Gilbert shook his head "Josh..." he started.

"No, don't." Josh almost blushed "don't get all sentimental on me." He objected.

Gilbert opened his mouth to object but thought better of it. Instead sighed and looked at his friend again "Thanks."

Josh shrugged "You'd do the same for me." He admitted "in fact I believe there's been once or twice you've dragged me out of bed and a hangover." Josh chuckled. "I call it even."

The table was set and the food was on the table, Gilbert's mother tapped her wine glass with her knife where a confused Gilbert looked to his father.

"Its not me son." John told Gilbert.

"But your my dad." He said confused.

"But not head of this household." John chuckled.

Gilbert looked towards Anne who had a smile on her face looking sweetly at him. "Um..." he started at Anne confused.

"No, no." Anne smiled picking up her wine glass "this is all on you baby."

Gilbert stood nervously and looked to his friends "Apparently we're equal in all things but this." He quipped. "Um, well..." he started as he cleared his throat. "I want to thank you all for coming today." He started. "And I mean really thank you." He continued. "We've had a um, pretty rough year, you all know why, but everyone, all the people in this room, helped." He said shaking his head not quite believing it himself. "All of you, meant so much to us to start with, and now, we know we have family wherever we will go. John Donne once said that 'No man is an island', indeed we are not we piece together, Islanders, Nova Scotians, Ottawan, we even have a Vancouverite in our mix..."

"Let me hear you say Ah-Men!" Josh quipped.

"And even our British Cousins." He said with a nod to Captain Jim. "Like this great nation, we are stronger together, and we are blessed to be surrounded by the people that we love." He said. "Anne and I..." he started then corrected himself "Sorry, I can't help but show off, my _fiancée_ and I..." (with it said there were a few chuckles around the table) "...would like to make a toast, to those we love, may we always be together in spirit. Cheers."

Anne looked over the table at Gilbert with a smile as even said 'cheers', and mouthed the word "Perfect" at him.

He smiled and mouthed back "I love you."

She reflected him back "I love you too."


	73. A&G of PEI 37 Plans of Change

**Couple of guest reviewers who I can't respond directly to (because you're a guest) neither one I've popped through on moderation.**

 **Sophie- if you've read this far, you're quite right I've updated chapter two the right word isnt acronym its synonyms forgive me, I wad probably very tired at the time.**

 **Another reviewer stated this was probably more then a T rating at times, for what it's worth I agree and have been posting as I go warnings about individual chapters and their content. Leaving it to read or not to, on this and other points.**

 **So, There is so much in the next few chapters, its constant change for them again, but its good. I loved writing the proposal! Its strange how I've had to order things on here, its funny the difference a century and a bit makes, the whole world is much more secular and therefore the morality is quite different, and of course this depends on your physical location too, some sections of society are a lot more religious then others, some are open or closed off to the way themes are even presented to them. People have so many different views now and I've been open about the role everything has on them or not, but as well this isn't just them as teens either, I think they must be about 25 by now, just about ready to leave medical school... So its quite different what a mid teen experiences to what a 25 year old does. Its hard writing!**

 **Ummm, someone asked if I was planning on going past the last chapter... yes, yes I am, although I will give a fair warning I think there might be some leaps in time, maybe even opening a new story and linking it back to this one as some one offs because honestly its been interesting writing it but I don't think I can keep it up! Original Mcfishie was it you?**

 **Jxuan, I think I replied to you but I'll say it again if I did. Yes, we get to see them with children, at least in a leap forward because I have this one scene in my head, they visit the park with their current children to visit Joy and at least 2 of them are in a double pushchair... I'll just leave that there!**

 **WOW Guest: Why, yes Josh is single! (how I know this I don't know, he feels like an old friend at this point!) I don't know if he can be matchmade up, I think he's a bit of a ladies man who will settle down into his job before he settles with a girl!**

 **so this chapter is long enough without me blubbering on!**

 **love Carrots x**

* * *

"Anne!" He exclaimed coming in from the elevator excited.

Anne looked up and smiled at him as he threw his jacket at the coat stand but ignore it as it hit the floor, she knew he was distracted to let it go.

"I have interviews at IWK, Royal College, NICU..."

"Is that normal to get interviews at so many of the ones you've applied for?"

"Yes, sort of, I'm not sure, How should I know, I've never done this before?!" he exclaimed with a smile on his face "but it means that there was no problems with the application."

Anne smiled, of course she had known it was bothering him, for a week after the application had been put in he had tossed and turned in bed. It wasn't until Anne had turned in the bed her fingers rubbed at his feet, he protested for a second before relaxing.

 _"Tell me about it Gilbert?" she had asked of him._

It had been in that moment he had unloaded his worries with her, that something had gone wrong that his application wasn't good enough, that he wasn't good enough, he'd fallen asleep telling her how wonderful she was, but she hoped the last thing he heard that night was her whispering to him that, no matter what happened with the medical schools, he was good enough.

"I can't believe its happening!" he proclaimed looking at the letters again sitting crossed legged on the floor in front of her. "I don't suppose you've heard back from any of the universities you applied to?" he asked her.

"No, not yet," She admitted, "But that's normal, they don't start interviews until Easter time, you have your interviews much sooner." Anne smiled.

"A week from now is the earliest." Gilbert nodded.

"So, we better get prepared." Anne said with a smile, picking up a folder which had in all of his preparation for his interviews in it. She opened the folder looking at the front page "we might as well start with the bits we can prepare for, so the interview and the knowledge of the programmes itself." Anne started.

Gilbert grinned watching her, "Anne, you don't have to do this now." He told her.

She looked at him perplexed by what he was saying.

He grinned "Are you trying to make up for missing out on my MCAT?" he asked her.

A little grin appeared on her face and she whispered "Maybe." She admitted, "I want to show to you what I would have done." She continued "but, I do want us to do this now." She told him. "I know inside your head you are freaking out about this interview and you will not relax until you have perfected the things you can..."

He grinned back and nodded his head kissed her on her forehead "You know me far too well."

"So, Gilbert Blythe, How do you feel about the practice of medicine today?"

* * *

"Hey beautiful, are you awake?" he whispered as he entered the bedroom just over a week later.

"Hey." She croaked. "Yeah I'm here." She said trying to sit up but flopping back onto the bed.

He chuckled removing his clothes with just his boxers on he slid into bed beside her, where she turned and hugged into him. "Its okay, you don't have to wake, I'm home." He whispered.

"What time ist?" she mummered.

"Just after eleven." He told her. "its been a long day." He continued. "I couldn't wait to get back home, to you." He told her.

She grinned against his chest. "I hope you took it all in rather then pine after me." She told him.

He chuckled "course I did, just coming back on the train was the hardest part that's all, it was three hours of the most beautiful countryside in the whole world and all I could think of was 'I wish I could share it with Anne.'"

"You old romantic you." She smiled. "So was the interview all you thought it would be?" she asked him.

He nodded in agreement "and a little bit more." He admitted. We went on a tour of the hospital, I saw the Pediatrics ward I would be working on, and then the formal interview."

"What was the ward like?" she asked him.

"Not as advanced as the one here." He told her. "but they are hopeful of getting some funding which would upgrade their equipment."

"Did you get to interact with the patients?" she asked him.

"I could talk to them yes." He said with a smile. "we looked at a few charts they asked what I thought it was, before taking me through some of the less obvious possibilities, I didn't really diagnose with not having my licence yet, but they seemed happy enough."

"In other words they loved you." She chuckled.

"its not my first choice in hospital but its not one to turn your nose up at either." He said. "I really think I've made the right decision you know. I think its where I'm needed." He told her.

She smiled softly and hugged into him more. "Needed and where you need to be." She reminded him, "don't forget yourself in all this."

He took a deep sigh and whispered "I'll try not to." He smiled into her "Anne?"

"Yeah?" she whispered.

"I really _really_ missed you." He whispered back.

"You were only gone from five this morning." She remarked.

"No." He said his lips turning into a wider smile. "I really _really_ **_really_** missed _you_." He flirted into her ear.

She chuckled, turned over in bed and whispered back to him "I missed you." Before their lips met.

* * *

"Can you see?" Anne asked Katherine as she was finishing checking her piece.

"Got it." Katherine nodded. "I'll make the adjustments needed." She agreed.

"Now I had a look over your book." Anne admitted.

"Oh?" Katherine jumped, "What do you think? Do you like it? Was there too much too little, it was too lengthy, I knew the lexicon was..."

Anne's hands held up to stop her "Katherine!" she chuckled "it was good." Anne admitted.

"Really?!" Katherine squeaked.

"I've made some reviews for you." Anne smiled "it will take some editing but I don't want you to think its not good, because I really enjoyed it."

"How is your book?" Katherine asked her.

"I think its going to be finished by the time we're ready to go home." Anne nodded. "Which is melancholic in a way." She chuckled "but don't tell Gilbert I said that, we use that word to mean my ex boyfriend."

"You don't use the word melancholic?" Katherine asked confused.

She chuckled again "That's a different story."

Katherine stood up and looked as though she was about to leave before she stopped again in front of her.

"What is it?" Anne asked.

"Jenny Heelan asked me out..." She blurted.

Anne chuckled "The barista in the coffee shop?"

"I don't know what to do Anne?! Can you help?" Katherine asked. "She's so smart, she's doing a degree in microbiology, I mean I don't know if we have anything in common..."

Anne looked surprised, "You want me to help you get ready for a date?" Anne asked.

Katherine sat back down and took a deep breath "I don't have many girl-friends, or girlfriends for that matter." She said quietly. "What could I possibly talk to her about?"

Anne took a deep breath "With that attitude..." Anne started. "Katherine, what do you suppose Gilbert and I talk about? You couldn't find two people in fields more different, it sounds like you'll be in a similar position."

"But you and Gilbert have history, you've known him since high school!" Katherine defended.

"But we started at high school, not knowing each other at all. It builds up, you don't just have a handy home made relationship all ready to go right from the word go." Anne said logically. Anne looked at her "tell you what, come round to mine, I'll have Cornelia, Josie and Leslie come round we can all give you advice and then you can choose which ones feel most comfortable."

"Anne, I... I couldn't but..." Katherine started.

"Don't mention it," Anne said with a pause, "its what friends are for."

Katherine looked up with hopeful eyes "friends?" she repeated.

"Yeah." Anne said nodding her head. "Friends."

* * *

"Anne Shirley!" Cornelia exclaimed as they walked down the street an hour later, "Urgh, you're so sweet, its sickly, I don't know how you could forgive her."

"The same way I could forgive Leslie, she seemed to have a grudge too." Anne tried.

"Leslie never had a go at your baby." Cornelia retorted.

"To be far Katherine didn't know there was a baby." Anne defended. "Are you saying she doesn't deserve a second chance?" Anne asked. "I thought we all deserved that."

Cornelia huffed for a moment before she said "You don't think with Katherine, maybe it was a bit more then just jealousy do you?" Cornelia asked.

"I don't follow." Anne wondered confused.

"Well, I mean she's bi, do you not think that maybe it wasn't just Gilbert she had a crush on?" Cornelia said with a wicked smile.

Anne looked shocked at Cornelia "You mean me?!" Anne exclaimed. "No!"

Cornelia's nose upturned for a moment. "If you say so."

"No!" She exclaimed again before her face dropped "No." She said with a little less conviction, as they entered the bookstore.

"Are you sure we'll find books in here for the children, they're at such different ages, its hard to know what to read to them all?" Cornelia pressed.

"Of course I'm sure." Anne said with a smile "Have you forgotten I am a editor by trade and I love books in nature."

"That's true." Cornelia said as they reached the children's section.

"What you need is the book to be easy enough for the older children to read and easy to listen to so the younger children will listen."

"Do you think a single book or a series?" Cornelia asked.

"Series, any time." Anne chuckled.

Cornelia smiled before she reached for a bookset only for another hand to reach for the same book.

"Oh excuse me." The man apologised.

"You're excused for the books." Cornelia teased the man.

"Am I guilty of something else?" he asked her.

"Only of being a man so far but it puts you on quite the uneven footing." Cornelia told him honestly.

He shrugged it off "I see a seething feminist." He judged which annoyed Cornelia by being judged herself "Are you as harsh on my gender?" he asked Anne.

"Most certainly not," Anne smiled. "My fiancé would be most annoyed if I were."

The man nodded "Would it help if I said these were for my daughter?" he asked.

Cornelia looked surprised "You have a daughter?" she asked.

"Nine." He nodded. "Just me and her. She read the first and wanted the rest for her birthday."

"Mine is for the children I nanny."

"You're a nanny?" he asked.

"I am, three days a week a 2 girls and a boy."

"A boy?" He teased.

"He's a sweet child." Cornelia admitted. "And you know a few men have found their way into my good books, the Captain Jim, Anne's Doctor Gilbert..." she trailed.

"You're Anne?" The man asked Anne.

"That's right." Anne confirmed. "And that's Cornelia." Anne said nodding towards her friend.

"Then perhaps you might add a farmer man to that list of men in your good books?" He requested.

"I don't know many farmers," Cornelia thought "other then through other people, the doctors father is a farmer and I like him well enough, though he is _extremely_ like the doctor." She said looking at Anne.

Anne smirked "I think he means him." Anne broke a chuckle.

Cornelia looked embarrassed as the man nodded his head. "Do I at least get to know your name, if we are to get along so famously?"

The man smiled his blue eyes in mirth "Elliot. My name is Marshall Elliot."

* * *

"Anne!" Diana exclaimed as she opened the door. "Oh Anne!" she cried hugging her friend "Oh my God I've missed you!"

Anne chuckled "You too Kindred!" she exclaimed too hugging her friend, "I'm sorry this has to be a flying visit." She apologised again. "Gilbert has his interview for Queen Elizabeth Hospital, its sort of an association with the school where they can complete their courses there, it is still 40 minutes away from Avonlea, but I think he wants to come home to the Island." Anne admitted.

"Is that where he is now?" Diana asked.

Anne nodded as they walked through the kitchen into the small corridor to get to the living room, "Typically the interviews are lasting about 5 hours." She confirmed "You should have seen his face when he saw it was a Friday so we could come home for the weekend." Anne laughed softly "We left at four this morning."

Diana rolled her eyes "Have you ever heard of a plane, it would have only been an hour."

"But then we would miss anything interesting happening!" Anne exclaimed, "the bakery delivery the strange looks we got in the service station when we rolled up for coffee, the sunrise across the sky..." she sighed romantically "plus any extra time with Gilbert..." she trailed.

"Oh my God you live with him!" Diana exclaimed "don't you get enough?" she asked.

"Evidently not." Anne said dignified, her nose going in the air.

"Would you come home?" Diana asked "if he got the associate place at the Queen Elizabeth?"

"We would need to live in Charlottetown," Anne said practically "but our visits home could be so much more frequent, at least until Gilbert finishes his residency, then I think, I don't know, he might like to get a job in a surgery, as a paediatrician."

"Isn't it strange he wanted to do paediatrics?" Diana wondered.

Anne shook her head "Its not strange at all, it fits him perfectly." Anne said softly.

"Well..." Diana mused "I suppose life teaches you who you want to be," she mused "Speaking of teaching, how would that effect your plans, 'Miss I want to teach in high school now'?"

Anne laughed "It wouldn't," she said "we already agreed matching comes first and I get as many 'yes's as I can and we fit each other together, we can't be apart." Anne said shaking her head. "I don't want to be away from him like that ever again."

"So you've applied to the nearest university in the same town which have the teaching certificates?"

Anne nodded again "we're in this together." She chuckled.

Diana looked to her friend "You're happy." She observed.

"I really really am." She said looking down at her finger.

"Oh that's right I've not seen it yet!" Diana exclaimed pulling Anne's hand to her."Oh Anne that looks Antique!"

"It was his great great grandma's." Anne said looking at it still. "so it is."

"Wow!" Diana exclaimed. "Was it romantic?" Diana asked her.

Anne smiled and her heart gave a familiar flutter. "I honestly don't know how I got so lucky." She mused. "Mind you, we both did well, did we not? Two jocks married two of the unpopular girls."

Diana snorted "Don't kid yourself, you know you were one of them."

Anne looked at her confused "Diana Wright!" she exclaimed "you know that's not true!"

"I know that it is, even if you did get there because Gilbert was head over heals in love with you!" Diana teased.

Anne rolled her eyes "but then _you_ were right there beside me." Anne objected "So does that mean _you_ were popular?"

To which Diana laughed "I can't believe just how much it used to matter." She smiled "You wouldn't believe that Fred used to be a football player."

Anne snorted "because you've fed him up so well."

"You'd still believe it of Gilbert." Diana remarked amazed "where does he find the time to keep in shape?"

"The weights and the treadmill in our apartment." Anne quipped. "He does like to stay in shape too, its what was so unusual after we lost Joy and he didn't eat or sleep or workout..." Anne trailed. "He has been known to have a book in front of him while he's running." Anne said with a grin.

Diana smiled widely "Oh Anne there's so much I want to tell you and Fred Gilbert... and Gilbert hasn't been home in such a long time, never mind spending time with us..." she said reservedly.

"All of that will change tonight!" Anne replied "And then we really must spend all weekend with his parents and Marilla and the twins."

"I know but at least we get a mention." Diana smiled.

"Where are the babies?" Anne asked.

"Anne-Cordy decided she is going to be an Olympic swimmer, I told her she would need lessons thinking it would defer her from wanting to but then she asked for lessons." Diana grinned. "And Fred Jr is taking a nap, that all he does is eat and sleep." She paused before she said "but you know Fred can take him over to my parents if you prefer?" she asked Anne.

"Why would I pre-" she stopped mid sentence "No, Diana, its okay for other people to have a family around it, I'm not angry or jealous, it doesn't..." Anne tried.

"Make you miss her?" Diana asked.

Anne swallowed "I think we'll always miss her." Anne admitted.

"You could have another?" Diana tried.

"She was unplanned, before we even try for another we want to make sure we're in the right place." Anne admitted. "And anyway, didn't you contribute to her seat?" Anne asked Diana, "it means the world to us both that we have somewhere just for her."

"It was Gilbert's idea, he's so sweet." Diana nodded. "We're just glad we could help."

* * *

"And then she comes out with the statics about the survival rates in convertible cars compared to normal cars..." Diana exclaimed.

"No!" Anne laughed along with Gilbert.

"How?!" Gilbert exclaimed, "Did she read them somewhere?"

"Oh here's the kicker..." Fred smiled.

"When we said we were buying a new car she used the voice recognition on the computer then got the computer to read back her results."

With Anne chuckling beside him he grinned widely "They're getting smarter." He quipped into Anne's ear.

Anne smiled at the intimacy, although he'd made no effort to hide what he said, the physical closeness was nice.

"You need to watch that one, the smarty." Gilbert said more widely to the group.

"Well one day Doctor Blythe we might be sending her your way." Fred smiled. "She says she wants to be a doctor as well as an Olympic swimmer . I think its from Doc McStuffins on the television."

Gilbert smiled "well its about time there was more females in the science fields, not just in medicine, but across the board." He admitted He looked to Fred "I'm techiqually not a practicing doctor until I have my Matching for the residency programme, and of course my certificate for MCCEE."

"Do they mark you the same as your other exams on that?" Diana asked.

"They tell you a mark out of 500, in my case 474, and whether or not its a pass or fail, which obviously its a pass, but its not a A,B, C situation its a pass or fail." He admitted.

"That seems a shame if you've done better then everyone else." Diana seemed huffed for him.

"Ah, but the rest of his career will be life and death, pass or fail, he might as well get used to it." Fred objected.

"I still can't believe it, most have us have long forgotten about school, and you're still going!" Diana said admirably.

"Well, if its what I want to do, and it is then I have to." Gilbert said with a smile "and remember I still have my internship before I'm even allowed near a patient unsupervised." Gilbert remarked.

"So an intern is your first year of residency?" Fred asked.

"Right." Gilbert nodded.

"And then, how many years?" Fred asked.

"After first year internship, another two years." Gilbert informed them.

"And you get paid?" Diana asked.

"Yes, though not a full doctors salary, still its nothing to turn your nose up at, $50,000."

"Plus, after next year we'll have my full wage as a teacher too." Anne chirped in.

"And the grant you've applied for." Gilbert added.

"We'll be fine, renting somewhere small for, what, three years?" Anne asked him.

He nodded, "it'll be strange don't you think? Moving back to the island away from all our new found friends in Kingsport and Phil and Jo, Josh..."

"Oh no way, Josh, the same Josh you've known since the first year in college?" Fred asked.

"The same." Gilbert nodded. "He's wanting to go into surgery, different medical facilities, different residency programmes." Gilbert shrugged.

"I think we'll miss them." Anne acknowledge, "but we will be visiting Kingsport regularly if we move away." She said thoughtfully with a sad look on her face "its intertwined with our lives, its part of it."

* * *

Anne and Gilbert decided to walk back to Blythe farm that night, a satisfied Mrs Wright was pleased she would see them again on their short visit.

"It feels like such a long time since we were here Gil." She said romantically as they walked across the bridge at Barry's Pond.

"It has been." He said honestly. "It makes me wish we could stay." He smiled softly.

"Our paths are taking us places we never thought possible." She said quietly.

He sighed for a moment before he said quietly "You'll tell me if I'm ever being selfish in my wishes, won't you?" he asked her.

"Of course." She said frankly. "Why?" she asked "is there something you want to tell me?" she asked.

"You know once I'm out of the residency program my wage is likely to increase?" he asked.

"Yes." She said nodding her head.

"And we're quite lucky that my scholarship from the Lambs really meant I have a debt free start." He continued.

"Yes." She followed.

"So it means we're at an advantage right?" he asked her.

"Gil spit it out!" she exclaimed exasperated.

"I... just," he struggled "what if I want to specialise further?" he asked her.

"Doing what?" she questioned.

"Neonatology." He finally admitted.

Anne looked to him, a mixture of confused, delight and concern crossing her face, before she took a deep breath. "Neonatology?" she questioned. "You mean taking care of babies?" she asked him.

He nodded. "I know it would mean that we couldn't come back to Avonlea, its a 45 minute drive to the hospital and you know we couldn't risk the..." he started before she threw herself into his arms and sweetly cried.

"Oh Gilbert Blythe you sweetheart." She whispered.

"The fellowship would mean I would still get paid but less then a normal doctors wage, but it would be a specialised wage once I..." he trailed.

Anne smiled "Do you really believe money is important to me?" she asked him. "It would make you happy yes?"

He smiled and nodded.

"And we'll have my wage coming in as a teacher." She told him logically.

"You wanted to teach in Avonlea." He said to her.

"We wouldn't have to sacrifice that." She said logically. "Its half an hour in the car to Avonlea from Brackley, Milton station..." she continued "and still be ten minutes drive away from the hospital." She told him. "Even if we were in Charolottetown itself its still only 45 minutes from the coast. I could still teach in Avonlea, and we could visit home so much easier."

He swallowed and smiled before he asked her again "I'm not just being selfish am I?"

Anne chuckled. "You're not selfish." She stated shaking her head in disbelief. "You're wonderful."

"And you don't mind we wouldn't be living in Avonlea for the foreseeable future?" he asked.

Anne shook her head "Avonlea will always be my first home." She admitted. "we might move back there one day, but for a while, its the right thing for us to do." She acknowledged. She kissed him gently before she asked "where did this come from?" she asked him.

He smiled "My interview today." He admitted. "The hospital is just perfect and I got to go on the NICU and, just that feeling where I made my mind up I wanted to go into Paediatrics just washed over me all over again." He continued "I know I'll take it to heart when a baby dies, I know it, I know because of Joy, but I know as well, the work those doctors and nurses did and I want to be someone's hope that they can keep their babies, I want to fight death and tell it that life shouldn't start and end at birth." He told her with conviction. "And because of Joy, I know I'll work harder."

"Not everyone is like us Gilbert, there might be those who blame you for their babies death, even when you do everything you can." She warned him.

He nodded and said quietly "I know."

"You can't take it to heart." She continued.

He looked down quietly "I know I can try..." he reported.

She chuckled raising his chin so his eyes met hers "Will there be a fellowship place immediately?" she asked him.

"Maybe not immediately, but I was talking to one of the fellows and theirs is up in the next couple of years, I'd need to apply for it and competition is hot, but I'd like to go for it when the opportunity arises."

Anne smiled and nodded her head and asked again "Neonatology?"

"Yeah." He confirmed "Neonatology."

She melted again as she looked into his eyes. "Neonatology." She confirmed before they kissed again.

"I have something too." She said to him.

"Oh?" He said his eyebrows quirking.

"I don't want to be one of those couples who are just engaged forever." She admitted. "I want to set a date." She admitted.

"Oh?" He asked as he smiled wider.

"Well after Match day your calendar is wide open for a little while yes?" she asked.

He nodded, "Until September." He admitted.

"I want to get married in that time, Maybe Sometime in August, Maybe even, the Birthday of our happiness."She suggested.

"Really?" he asked apparently surprised.

"Its just its our last chance before you start your residency, we have no guaranteed time off for a long time, it makes sense and lets face it we're going to get married one day, we might as well make it sooner rather then later." She shrugged.

"Well that's very practical of you Anne." He teased her.

"You know I mean it in the romantic sense too, and you know I hate big fancy weddings, just you and me and a few friends and our family, the orchard at Green Gables..." she said looking up at him with flirting eyes "it would be beautiful." She said.

"Anytime you'd be a bride would be beautiful." He smiled "though there is the added bonus you'd be going into teaching as Mrs Blythe."

"Is that a yes?" she asked him.

He smiled and nodded his head "In my view we're already married, this is a formality." He said with a smile. "Though a one to be happy about."

Anne squealed in excitement. "So August 5th?"

He smiled and held her tighter "I was thinking perfect." He agreed, before he took her by the hand and led her back to Blythe farm.

"There you are!" Mrs Blythe exclaimed throwing open the door as soon as they started opening the gate.

"We took a walk down via Barry's pond." Gilbert smiled as his mother ran down the path embracing him first then Anne. "Were you waiting?" he asked.

"Only since six." She said quietly.

"If six means three." They heard John Blythe's voice from the door.

Gilbert looked to his dad as he spoke then back to his mother "mom!" he proclaimed with a grin.

"Oh I couldn't help it!" she sighed, "My baby was coming home!" she laughed walking them back up the path.

"But mom its ten." He chuckled.

"It doesn't matter you're home now." She smiled.

"I know tonight and tomorrow." He said.

"Your bedroom is all ready." Mrs Blythe told him. "I know you had an early start."

"We did." Gilbert agreed. "But I think we can spare a few minutes sleep for a catch up." He told his mother, with a smile to her. "We have some news." He said grinning like a Cheshire cat.

His mother beamed as she told him "Let me put the kettle on."


	74. A&G of PEI 38-Match

**Look at me! I have a spare five minutes! Miracles do still happen. I'll be honest and tell you, this will probably be the last you see of me until after the new year now, next week my hubby is off work and we have a thousand things to do, school insists on packing everything into the last week of school and so we are blessed with a carol service and the Christmas dinner and this is actually the first year my hubby will be around fro all those things, other family commitments will see us busy even more then just our 2 children on Christmas day, and I'm not complaining but busy means busy this time of year. I will endeavour to sit and write out some more chapters of this at some point though, and its actually a nice chapter to take a break on, its one of those moment which is nice to write about. Also again I love writing in Gilbert's first person POV and again this was written when I was extremely tired! But I write Gilbert so much better when tired!**

 **Thank you for all your reviews. I do enjoy to read them even if I don't get the chance to write back.**

 **love**

 **Carrots x**

* * *

A day every medical student waits for is Matching Day.

You work so hard, every day, to retain all of the information you need to pass exams, and for a while it seems as though those exams are life and death, and you're so focused on that for so long, then every once in a while you look up and you realise that actually, those exams are not life and death, but as a result of taking those exams you literally have life and death in your hands.

Its awe inspiring and terrifying at the same time.

Because to your patient, at worse you are the difference between life and death, at best you improve their lives.

There's this process we all go through, very single one of us, no matter which doctor you meet.

We've all been through some kind of pre-med education. Whether it be like me who went through an undergraduate degree in Bio Medical science or you take a year out and do the premed foundation year, then even that's no guarantee you get into medical school, The average acceptance rate nearly halved between 2006 and 2016, falling from 8.8 percent for the class entering in 2006 to 4.6 percent for the class entering in 2016 (I know, I looked it up).It was hard to believe when I got accepted, not many get through straight from university on to the medical programmes, in fact I know out of the ten of us that applied only Josh and I got into medical school, 4 of the others went onto do a masters programme two went into the armed forced, the other two, I don't know actually, its hard to keep up with everyone.

There's very little acknowledgement too. Your family know of course, what you're doing and how you're doing, but sometimes people overlook how hard you work with "yeah he's at medical school" and yes its an achievement but its the little achievements while you're there, that make all the difference, and I know I'm not in it for the acknowledgement, I'm not, otherwise I would have quit a long time ago, but its still nice to celebrate achievements.

That's what Match Day is all about.

The third Friday in March, is a day every medical student looks forward to. I know in some universities you get your white coat on entering medical school, and I understand why its to make you feel part of a community. A medical community but one all the same. Not our university, and you know something, I'm glad. I've always wanted to put on that white coat and know I've earned it! I've imagined the sense of achievement every step of the way. Graduation from School, From college, MCAT, being at medical school, coming top of my class in everything, it hasn't been easy. I know some will say she hasn't been with me at every step, but she has been, even when she wasn't there with me, I'd imagine her there beside me, studying. In fact there were some days I was so convince of her presence (when she wasn't there) that I would look up to speak to her to tell her something and she wouldn't be there. I was angry at myself at the time, how dare I think she was there, how dare I want her there, why could I not get her out of my head? I know differently now of course, and I smile at the memory and I like to think in those times, she was there in spirit. My Kindred Spirit.

But I digress of course (Somehow everything links back to her in my view). Yes, Match Day. The people you love are there, (so in my case Anne, my Mom and Dad) the envelopes are all out on the table, they're there, your dreams starting so tantalisingly close, for me, its been a dream twelve years in the making.

It started of course with all the doctors and nurses who took care of my dad. It was the first notion I had of wanting to enter the medical field. You see, despite me trying to rebel against my parents (something which was about three weeks long) I was still young enough and close enough to them that they were still my heroes. My Mom and my Dad, real life superheroes, and all at once, there was a realisation where they weren't immortal. This wasn't a gradual realisation which most kids go through at some point, whether its before or after the superhero era of their parents existence, where mortality just take a hold of your parents, maybe one day they look old or they fall, or they even fail you in some way. In a twinkling of an eye, my Dad went from Superman to a mortal.

Think about the difference? You're watching Superman and suddenly he's right next to kryptonite, he's weak, barely able to hold up his own head and you're screaming at the TV screen telling him to use his superpowers and just throw it away so it doesn't affect him anymore or to fly away or simply walk, why can't he just walk away? And you realise, it's having a physical effect on him, that someone so super can be brought to his knees, he could even die a moral man because of kryptonite. He's no longer a superman, he's just a man.

So, there was my dad, he ran a farm, he worked with his hands, he's a very physical sort of man, he could do anything. Yes, I had my superheroes, but he was my hero and I was told just like that, he was mortal, there was a possibility he couldn't do this, that he couldn't fight this. He could die.

Once I got over the whole four first stages of anger and got to acceptance, we were already in the hospital for his first round of chemo and I remember these two doctors reading his chart and talking about it. At the time, I had no idea what they were talking about, but you know I was a little obnoxious right?

 _"What are you talking about?" I asked the two doctors standing right in front of them so they couldn't miss me._

 _"Gilbert don't bother the doctors..." my mother started._

 _"But I want to know, can you make my dad better by looking at that paper?" I ask them._

 _"Gilbert!" My mother reprimanded._

 _"No, its okay." One said while the other looked slightly annoyed at the presumptuous child he was being confronted by. "The paper helps us assess what we can do to help."_

 _"How?" He continued._

 _The second doctor rolled his eyes and left while the first doctor pulled up two chairs and asked John if he could show Gilbert his chart to which John confirmed he could._

 _"Do you know what cancer is?" he asked Gilbert._

 _"Um, something to do with our cells right?" he questions._

 _The doctor nodded "Our cells multiply right? And repairs our body and it gets rid of old or dead cells any number of ways, our skin dries and peels along with our blood cells recycling itself in our gut yes?"_

 _"Yes." Gilbert nodded._

 _"Well there are times those cells mutate, usually, UV, or smoke, alcohol effect us every day, even other environmental factors such as stress can effect us very physically, so much so it changes our cells, which is why in my opinion your dad is so sick, he's physically taken on a lot of stress on his body."_

 _"Because dad doesn't really drink all that much and he doesn't smoke at all." Gilbert said logically._

 _"So those things are unlikely to be the cause."_

 _"What about UV?" Gilbert asked "he is a farmer he's outside all the time."_

 _The doctor smiled "You think like a doctor young man."_

I looked at him a little shocked. I think like a doctor.

There. In that moment, was my first thought of being a doctor.

I remember watching and learning from these doctors in the following years, I even understood one or two bits of medical jargon.

In case you're wondering, that first doctor, was Doctor Dixon.

So here I am, on the edge of that reality which started when I was 13. Slowly, other pieces fell into place, I've longed dreamed of Anne being the one putting my white coat on me, she'd smile at me and congratulate me, I could see her with her own achievements, me being by her side. There's other details of course, I don't think I would have guessed paediatrics twelve years ago, but then at thirteen I thought all the surgeons have the glory have the power have the skill (I mean they cut things up for a living, that's pretty cool to a kid) but my dreams slowly refined themselves and I came to the conclusions myself. There are those around me who had an impact on me, Anne and Joy in particular. My girls. I can't tell you just what happened when Joy came and went, but its made all the difference. Don't get me wrong, I would have been happy as a surgeon, or as a GP, or Oncologist, or anything in the medical field, but I feel this one is my calling and maybe Joy helped me realise it.

Yesterday, I got an e-mail confirming I had been matched. My heart jumped of course, because that's the most terrifying part, is not getting matched. There's an even longer wait you see, if you don't get matched, for any vacancies and it might not be the hospital or the programme you want. So that e-mail confirming I'd been matched to one of my four schools, was a relief, today and that envelope, that just tells me which one.

I've dressed in a new suit my parents brought with them. Its grey in colour, with a waistcoat and a dark purple tie. There's a knock on the bathroom door, I can tell by the knock its Anne before she speaks.

"Are you ready Gil?" she calls through the door. I open the door pulling her in quickly and lock the door before I quickly hold her in my arms. "Are you alright?" she asks me shocked.

"Its happening!" I chuckle nervously still holding her before I quickly press my lips to hers to make sure it isn't all a dream. Nope, I conclude with the feeling of her lips against mine, even in my dreams her lips could never feel like this. "Oh thank god this is real."

She smiles I can feel her jaw move to her smile against my cheek. "It a day long dreamed of." She chuckles "Its so nice to have dreams come true." She said pulling back and looking into my eyes.

All over again I look into her eyes and I'm in awe of her, her patience, her vivacious, "What of you Anne-Girl, what of your dreams?" I ask her.

"They're right here Gil, can't you see them?" she asks me. "Filled of you and me, our home our life together." She smiled "People think we need big and grad ventures in life, but the reality is, by simple steps along a path, a spectacular view is awaiting, we don't get there by standing still at the beginning of the path, but when we take simple steps one after another and another, its like a hike a never ending hike, its not until we get to certain points of view that we're able to see how far we've come." She smiled "Today is one of those days."

I smile, I love her visualisations, they are so true to life. "And yours?" I ask her.

"My path is beside yours." She smiles. "I love you Gil, but you're a walking companion, not the designation." She tell me her eyebrow flirting.

I smile "I like that." I admit. "We're on it together, our designation the same."

"Together." She says reaching again for a kiss which as ever I wilfully give. "Are you ready to be matched?"

I smile "I can't wait for that white coat moment!" I exclaim.

"Are you sure you want me to..." she starts.

"Yes!" I exclaim.

"But surely one of your parents..." she trails.

"Would do a fine job, but its not them I've dreamed of giving me it." He said.

"I don't deserve..." she starts but I cut her off with another kiss. I ache when she says things like that. I know what she's doing, she's punishing herself for the two years we missed together, she has such a low opinion of herself that she believes that somehow she's not good enough for me.

Not good enough! My mind can't analyse the thought. She's far too good for me, and that's not detrimental to me, she close to an angel, deity, a goddess, and I a mere mortal. I pull back and speak before she's able to "even if it were true and you didn't deserve it, don't I deserve it?" I ask her.

I see her resolve melt away, her eyes change to the comforting grey as she smiled "I love you." She tells me.

"I love you." I reply and I finally look at her dress. "I know this dress."

"Yes you do." She smiled sweetly.

The dress was a knee length and puffed out a little. It was dark purple. The waist was adorned with tiny crystals which looked like flowers and leaves the top was sheer hiding her chest and collarbone from view, its the one she wore the night of the Christmas dance in junior year, the one where I valiantly fought off Charlie for her, our first real hug, the first time I held her in my arms, the first...

I blush like I did back in high school. She still has that effect on me, even all these years later.

"Its not too formal is it? Or sparkly?" she asks.

"No... you're very…pulchritudinous." I tell her honestly with a knowing smile the same smile reflected back on her face.

"You said that then too." She said outloud.

"Well," I admit "At least I get to hold you on my arm this time." I whisper in her ear.

"You did get to hold me in your arms last time." She blushes as she turns and reach for the door handle out of the bathroom before I grab her and pull her in close so she could make no mistake on just how beautiful she was to me. "Oh?" she flirted her eyes dancing with mine before I finally kiss her "I thought it would go nicely with your tie." She says when I pull back a little.

Not for the first time she makes me speechless, I nod in appreciation.

* * *

Its time for us to find out.

I'm standing playing with my envelope, despite being top of the class, I still have to wait for alphabetical order. Many open theirs as soon as it hits their hand, Josh being one of them.

"Yes!" he exclaimed grabbing me and hugging. "I'm staying here!" he exclaimed. "Oh thank God!"

"Congratulations!" I said genuinely.

"What are you waiting for?" Josh demanded "Open it!"

"I'm going to do it at the stand." I tell him.

Josh's face fell for a moment before he said "If you get your first choice..." he trailed.

"Yeah." I acknowledge. "End of an era."

Josh swallows and I look surprised, its not like him to be serious but it looks like he's about to be "You know you're my best friend."

"Yeah." I tell him, "You're mine." I say truthfully, outside of Anne, even Charlie and I were never able to be like Josh and I. "Come on, we'll stay in touch and I mean really will," I tell him, then twist a smile "Anne will make sure of it." I chuckle.

He chuckles too and looks over to her "If it were just you I'd question it, but not her." He tells me. "I'll miss her too." He said shaking his head. "You know, you two, your mom and dad, its the closest to family I have." He said quietly.

"They didn't come." I observe out loud. "Josh..."

"They've done some pretty low stuff you know," he says with a shrug, "You know, ** _you know_** I've worked my way through, I thought it might be enough..." he shrugs.

I embrace him again and whisper "I'm proud of you." I tell him "You know that right?" I remind him. I smile and only half tease "You know you're a brother from another mother, right?" I say, when he doesn't give me eye contact at first I say it again "Right?"

He looks up and smiles "Yeah, yeah you too."

It was when we were lining up for the podium I finally realised what a dumb idea it was to open it there. Nerves are setting in.

Ahmed. I can feel my purse increase.

Aliyev. I can hear the pounding in my ears.

Amar. What if I mess up? What about Anne's plans. What if...

Anderson, Okay now they are just showing off with their surnames being in A's come on!

"Bell" Okay B's, excellent Blythe begins with B.

"Bilton." Now they are kidding right? I bounce on the balls of my feet, impatiently waiting, if this were a dream this would be the part where just as they were about to call my name I'd wake.

"Blythe, Gilbert." That's me! There's no one else in front of me, I get to the podium and rip open the envelope.

Right here. I have to memorise this moment, take it all in, I look out and see my parents with eager faces, my mom recording it on her mobile phone, curse Anne for teaching her how to use a smart phone! I know we'll see them more with a half an hour to forty five minute car journey. I really hope I've not disappointed them. The paper taken out of the envelope I look to Anne, there's that look, the one I saw in high school the first time I imagined it, Oh but its all so sweeter in reality! And here to share this with me. I flip the paper, and read the words.

Relief spreads through my body I feel like collapsing! I hold onto the podium with a wide smile

"I'll be a Resident in Paediatrics with Kingsport University at the Queen Elizabeth on PEI!" I blurt out. I see out of the corner of my eye Anne jump on the spot at the news in excitement my parents both standing cheering. I turn to Anne and land rather ungracefully in her arms. "I did it!" I whisper to her. "I actually did it!"

I can feel her chuckling before I pull back, managing to hold my own this time. She smiles and offers me the white coat, I turn and she puts it on me, I finally turn toward her as she straightens the coat I look down at her, this was it, this was the moment long awaited for, she looks up her grey eyes have specks of green dancing in them, her smile sweet, she pulls me in and kisses me respectable on the lips. "Congratulations," she tells me before I open my eyes to her saying "Doctor Blythe." We walk off the stage and I vaguely hear the next person being called up, we go to the photography area.

"One of the Doctor," he says "and any others for later?" he asked.

"Yes." I reply immediately "one of me and my fiancée and one with my parents too."

"We'll get those later." He replied "Please." I stand and pose with the background behind me, I normally hate these posed pictures, don't get me wrong I love when we're all smiling at the camera but the fake background kind of ones, but today, I feel proud to stand there.


	75. A&G of PEI 39

**I'mmmmmm back!**

 **At least kinda! It has been so crazy since the last time I wrote, I have been so busy Potty training and buying a new car and its alllll been a little crazy!**

 **I'm trying at least and this is the latest chapter, for those who remember the last...**

 **love**

 **Carrots x**

* * *

"I'm bored!" Gilbert exclaimed three days later as he lay with the laptop on his stomach.

Anne smiled. "You haven't been bored in a long time!" she teased.

"Is this what people do?" he asked her with a grin, "I don't know how they take it."

"You've been studying a long time." Anne reminded him "You have five more months of this." She chuckled.

"Well, that last one is our honeymoon." He said with a grin "I doubt we'll be bored then!"

Anne laughed sweetly "No I doubt it." She concurred.

"How long since matching?" he asked her.

She laughed and looked round at him "Three days!" she exclaimed.

"Is this how it feels to live with me?" he asked her watching her as she turned around and started on her assignment again.

Anne chuckled "When I'm not studying yes." She agreed.

"I'm a bore." He sighed.

"No, stop you've wooed me already." Anne said rolling her eyes which made Gilbert chuckle "Or else a really hard worker, some people appreciate it as a personality trait." He sighed heavily "Why don't you go and see if we have any post?" she asked him, "it should keep you occupied for a couple of minutes." She said.

He nodded and stood up "I think I'll go for a run." He said taking action.

Anne smiled "I think that's a good idea."

* * *

Forty five minutes later Gilbert came back hot and sweating from his run.

"Good run?" Anne asked him.

"Yeah." He said with a nod. "and productive." He told her as he came over to the sofa with envelopes in hand.

"Oh?" she asked.

"Um," he said leaning over her and kissing her on the forehead as he gave her the envelopes. "I was running past the restaurant on Saddler's Street." He said "they were looking for a waiter to cover someone's maternity leave, or whats left of it, three months, It'll take me to the end of June, a few pennies saved up while we're still here and you're still on contract with the publishers. " He said with a smile showing her the form. "Work is good for the spirit." He said with a smile.

Anne chuckled "Do they know you're a doctor?" she asked.

"Well I would imagine it will come up _eventually_ ," he said "I fail to see how it would effect my ability to serve customers."

Anne smiled looking at him "You've not changed have you?" she said to him opening the first envelope "You're so willing to just work."

He shrugged "Its in my nature." He admitted "As long as I get to see you graduate it really doesn't matter about..." he looked as Anne's face changed as she read the contents of the first letter "what's that love?" he asked her.

"University of PEI," she said with a smile "an interview on Wednesday of next week."

He smiled back and nodded "I love it when a plan comes together."

"Don't speak too soon." She warned him.

* * *

Cornelia paced in front of them, clearly frustrated, much to Anne's, Leslie's, Owen's and in particular Gilbert's amusement.

"Isn't nice to be in love?" Anne asked her trying to hide her grin something Gilbert wasn't even attempting.

"It ought to be." Cornelia claimed, "Only why did it have to be a man!" she huffed "I like girls more." She said stopping suddenly "and yet here I am falling for a man, a man!" she exclaimed then glared at Gilbert when he burst into laughter. "And what is so funny Doctor?" she demanded.

His smile forced to a bit more sobriety "We can't help who we fall in love with." He said to her. "In your case its twice as complicated, there's more complexity to potentially falling in love with both sexes, and you've been quite open in saying you're bi rather then straight or plain out gay, did it not occur to you that since you were attracted to both sexes you might fall in love with a man?"

"I always saw myself with women." She struggled. "Its not to say I wasn't turned on my a muscle bound man, but actually liking a man, there's you, and the captain..." she trailed.

"Seems as though we need a title for you to like us, something for you to be impressed by." Gilbert teased.

"I like Owen too." Cornelia tried "Even if you are a liberal."

"Um, Thanks?" Owen questioned looking to Leslie who only giggled.

"I like your father." Cornelia defended to Gilbert, "though he is like you."

"He was here first I think its the other way round." Gilbert told her.

"All the same..." Cornelia said sitting down on the sofa in a huff "I can't believe I'm falling for a man!"

Anne still fighting a smile sympathised with her "Its frustrating when our hearts are intent on doing the exact opposite to what we would like it to do." She said with a smile to her fiance. "I did fall in love under protest."

"With good reason." Gilbert defended immediately then softened remembering the present company didn't know all the facts, his smile turned to a teasing one "I was an idiot."

Anne grinned then turned to Cornelia, "If you're so against falling in love with a man, then why agree to go on a date with him?" she questioned.

"Could you resist your doctor?" She asked Anne.

"She did, for several years." Gilbert said with a grin which received a glare from Anne.

"And Leslie you with Owen, did you not resist it?"

"Well, yes but then I was married." She acknowledged, "Its quite the reason to resist."

"Then you both can't know how I feel, I want to with all of me, I want to resist it, you saw the way he talked to me in that bookstore he's not afraid of me at all."

"The man is an animal farmer, if you can control on angry bull..." Anne almost laughed.

"Its really quite simple when you get to the basics of it..." Gilbert started, to which Anne shook her head and he realised "...oh right, that's not what you were looking for." Gilbert acknowledged. "You'd be no match for him!" Gilbert corrected himself. "Is that any better?" he whispered to Anne.

Cornelia looked towards the pair, "I can't believe you're leaving soon."

"End of June." Anne smiled sadly. "It'll be one of those bittersweet moments." Anne acknowledged.

"Can you do us a favour?" He turned to Leslie and Owen.

"Oh?" Leslie said surprised sitting up slightly "From me?"

"Keep an eye on Josh for us will you?" Gilbert asked of her. "He's staying here and I just want to make sure someone is on the look out for him."

"Are his parents not local?" Cornelia asked.

"No," Gilbert said shaking his head keeping back from critising his elders "they aren't."

Everyone picked up on Gilbert's dark tone and assumed there was a history to be told "I see," Cornelia acknowledged.

"Well I suppose if you must move there are worse people who we could form a closer acquaintance with." Owen said with a smile to Leslie.

"Is he excited to be starting at the hospital?" Leslie asked.

"He is." Gilbert said with a smile "I think we're all ranging in emotion from excited to terrified."

"Well we can take care of him." Cornelia added.

"Do you know who is moving into the apartment when you go?" Leslie asked.

Gilbert shook his head "The Lambs are actually looking at selling the apartment after we go, the board has bought the house on Coburg Road, specifically for someone to live there."

Owen sat up "I've not seen it advertised?" he questioned.

"Are you looking at moving?" Cornelia asked shocked.

Leslie nodded "not far but, we needed somewhere unscathed from..." She trailed looking sad.

"Do you think you could afford it?" Cornelia asked hopefully.

Owen nodded. "With the money from Leslie's apartment sale it would be a good deposit, over the half overall amount, we could put the deposit down and have a few months mortgage payments ready. I'll be writing of course..." he trailed.

"But I'm starting back at community college!" she exclaimed. Everyone looked surprised at the pair. "I want to be a midwife!"

"Leslie!" Anne exclaimed gathering her friend in her arms "Oh Leslie that's wonderful news!"

Gilbert looked at them surprised but delighted "Well I could talk to the alumi board, I still hold sway in the lambs, ex presidents always do, maybe they could do a private sale."

* * *

"I found it." Gilbert said coming in one day from his trip back to Charlottetown.

"You found what?" Anne asked him.

"Our nest." He said with a smile. "Its only five minutes from the hospital in the car three bed, with room to expand if we wanted to, and its only 140 thousand Anne, its a steal!" he said excitingly.

Anne looked to him surprised as he handed her the leaflet "but Gilbert we only have 5,000 saved up for our downpayment, we were looking at apartments to start with, not houses."

Gilbert sat and looked at her seriously. "Well..." he said quietly "mom and dad were going to leave it as a surprise for us for our wedding." He said quietly, "You see with dad getting older they decided to sell part of the farm." He started. Anne's head shot up as Gilbert's hands came up to calm her "Relax," Gilbert started, "it was 15 acres, which included the old barn which the _farmer_..." he emphasised

"Oh its staying farm land?!" Anne exclaimed.

"Dad wouldn't let go of it otherwise." Gilbert nodded.

"Oh I always liked your father!" she added.

"Sometime better then me." Gilbert teased her. "So, good farm land goes at a pretty price especially on PEI, it's not enough to pay for the mortgage, not that I would accept that anyway, and I offered to pay it back but dad insisted no, but they're giving us 10,000."

Anne's eye widened.

"It will still take us to the top of our range to begin with but once we're settled and even if I get to do a fellowship, I mean it wouldn't be plenty of money to spare for a while but..." he came and sat next to her "I just think it would be easier once we own our home, even if we decide to move closer to Avonlea one day owing is so much easier then renting and the landlord deciding our fate, it won't feel like home until its ours."

Anne listened carefully, knowing he had thought it through already and was excited about the place he had found. "Ours?" she smiled.

"Yeah, ours." He agreed.

"Which this place never was." She admitted.

"It has done us well." Gilbert acknowledged, "just I want something which is, us, you know you and me, and admit it Anne you wouldn't choose to live here."

"No." Anne chuckled "but I won't pretend to regret living here." She reflected "we've achieved so much while we've been here." She admitted "You're a fully fledged Doctor."

"And you a Master of Arts." He smiled. "You've become highly respected at the publishing house."

"Oh and all the doctors loved you at the hospital!" she said lightly with a laugh as she brought her feet up and snuggled into Gilbert's side as he sat back on the sofa relaxing.

"Your second book is about to be published." Gilbert smiled.

Anne laughed as he snuggled into her neck.

"I never imagined life could bring me so much happiness." He whispered to her romantically. "God sent you to me." He whispered even more gently which Anne smiled gently her eyes closing as he continued "He knew what I needed."

"You too." She whispered back before she reached for his lips and kissed him gently "You think you've found home?" she asked him again.

He nodded "I think I found us 'home'." He agreed.

"I can't wait to see it." She told him.


	76. A&G of PEI 40

**Here I am just a day later then last week! Believe me I didn't think this would get out at all!**

* * *

 _Anne stirred from her sleep, confused for a moment that she wasn't in her own bed, but she was far too comfortable to care where she was. There was the familiar presence she was hugged into, the presence comforted her so much she didn't care to even open her eyes. It wasn't Roy there beside her, he would not be so gentle in holding her, his clothes would be far more clad and that smell! The smell that only Gilbert could give. Her leg raised up cradling his in hers. The action made the presence stir and turn slightly into her._

 _This made her eyes open slightly seeing they were in Gilbert's room lying on his bed snug together, the his laptop the only light in the room still dimmed from not being used, the film long finished._

 _She felt his arm squeeze her closer which made her smile and look up at him._

 _Part of her felt sad. In the morning she would get a call from Roy, right after he had slept with someone else, asking for her to forgive him again. She was stuck in this trap of a relationship. She wished she could find a way out of this, that maybe what she was about to do, wouldn't be so bad._

 _They looked so plump and beautiful, a dusky pink, just hers to gently caress. She kissed his lips gently._

 _The kiss woke him she felt his lips react under hers, once stirred more his arms gently held her to him. As the kiss lengthened she felt her lower body squeeze together, his leg still between her legs. Her lips opened slightly and she felt him hesitate and pull back._

 _They didn't say anything to each other as she moved back down his body cuddling into his chest, she felt his lips kiss into her hair. She was still so tired she fell back asleep thinking of the 'if only's'..._

Anne woke with a deep breath, shocked out of the reoccurring dream. She sat up confused for a moment.

Was she actually still with Roy?

No that was impossible, because she was in Gilbert's apartment.

No, not Gilbert's, theirs. Well the last almost 2 years it had been theirs.

That was right, wasn't it? She brought her left hand up and looked to see her engagement ring safely on her finger, the engagement ring, Gilbert had given her.

She turned and looked, indeed the Gilbert reality was true, and she was looking at the stirring Gilbert beside her.

"Anne are you okay?" he asked groggily clearly only just waking himself.

"Just, a reoccurring dream." She said her heart pounding from it.

"Not a bad one I hope." He murmured.

"No not bad." She admitted. "Far from it." She continued "I kind of wish it had happened." She told him lying back down snuggling herself into him.

"It had happened?" he asked her.

She chuckled. "Its a dream I've been having, actually, you remember the night I told you everything and we'd fallen asleep on your bed?"

"Um." He acknowledged.

"Ever since then." She continued, "well, it was about that night actually."

"Nothing dirty I hope." He said a little smirk appearing on his lips.

She saw the smirk and tapped him gently on his bare chest "don't be gross." She reprimanded him. She lay silent for a moment before she whispered "I get turned on." She told him.

This makes his eyes open and he looked down at her with a smile on his face "Oh?" he questioned. "Now you must tell."

She chuckled before she looked up at him and smiled at him before she told him "well I wake from being asleep, I'm not exactly awake at first but I feel its you on the bed with me, and I know its you, its your scent and we're in your room and on your bed and your laptop was even a little light from watching Indiana Jones, but I'm sort of semi aware of all this because I look up and see you and you hold me a little tighter and I want to kiss you..." she trailed for a moment blushing before she continued "So I do, I kiss you and it wakes you, and our legs were already on each others and I can feel in my jeans I get..." she blushed more before she whispered "turned on." With this Gilbert sat up "Don't be mad, I wouldn't know I was turned on at the time, I mean I suppose its just, I mean I guess actually I did know... I mean I know it now and everything, and I suppose I suspected back then , but then it was we were kissing and it felt nice and I..."

"You opened your mouth." Gilbert told her.

Anne looked to him confused "How do you know that?" she asked him.

He took a deep sigh and his hand went through his hair. "I pulled back."

"Yes, you hesitate in the dream every time." Anne told him. Gilbert looked at her his brow furrowed before he saw it dawn on her. "Oh!" she exclaimed. They were silent for a few seconds before she whispered "I didn't dream it, it was real." She stated, to which she received a nod from him. "Oh." She repeated. "Why did you hesitate?" she asked him.

"You know why Anne-Girl." He told her with a serious look "You were still with Roy."

"We'd broken up remember?" Anne observed.

Gilbert's face turned unusually serious at her. "It didn't stop you from running back to him the next morning!" he told her.

"So?" Anne asked.

"So," Gilbert reflected before continuing "You were emotionally stuck in that relationship, you had just recounted to me what I can only describe as abusive memories, I would never take advantage of you like that!"

Anne took a deep breath "So, you wanted to... too?" she asked.

Gilbert grinned "Of course I did." He acknowledged, "I couldn't, you weren't mine to keep, and anyway what were we going to do? Have sex there and then in my room?" he asked her.

Anne let out a deep breath. "It was real, I really got..." she blushed.

Gilbert smiled in satisfaction "I turn you on!" he grinned.

"Shut up!" she said her pillow hitting his face as he laughed.

He grinned pulling her back into him "I believe I ended it by holding you like this..." he said taking her in his arms "and kissing you here." He said kissing into her hair again.

"Yeah." She whispered "You did." She paused before she asked "hey if you remember it how come you never mentioned it?" she asked him.

"Like you I thought it was a dream." He shrugged "only I thought I had it that night I've never had it since, I remember it of course like I do all the dreams I had of us..." he trailed and squeezed her tighter. "plus you know as well as I do, I had much more intimate dreams of us way before then, I suppose, my reoccurring ones are of us much younger."

"One of many." She acknowledged. Anne sighed before they went silent again. "Thank you." She whispered.

"What for?" he asked.

"Not taking advantage." She told him.

"Shouldn't really be thanked for it but okay." He chuckled.

"But you could have, I mean it would have been totally consensual it wouldn't have been rape or anything because I think I wanted to but..."

"Anne." He whispered. "I love you." He told her.

She smiled and hugged into him tighter and after a moments silence said "Gil?"

"Yeah?" he asked her.

She looked up her eyes fluttering at him "Do you fancy, maybe showing me what might have happened?" she asked him.

He smiled and he looked down into her eyes which were looking back up at him. "You want me to pretend its that night?" he asked.

"Roy has broken up with me..." she trailed "and I'm looking for comfort..." she whispered before kissing him gently as she did that night, their lips parting, this time his tongue met hers.

* * *

"Results day." Gilbert said with a grin to her. "You know you'll easily be top of the class." He assured her seeing she was uneasy.

"They don't get recorded like that anymore." Anne admitted. "I'll be happy with a distinction." She admitted "with what happened with Joy, my work wasn't as good as it might have been."

"No one can blame you that." He said quietly.

"You still came top of the class." She said quietly.

"What happened didn't happen to my body." He told her firmly. "Yes, emotionally..." he said slowly nodding his head "its been hard." He admitted "but it wasn't the same thing as happened to you."

Anne nodded "You're the closest thing to someone going through it with me though." She said quietly. "I couldn't have even came back if it weren't for you, well not so soon anyway."

Gilbert shrugged and came up behind her holding her close to his body "I'm just glad we spent it together." He whispered.

Anne smiled at his closeness. "Its all coming to an end again." She told him. "Its terrifying."

Gilbert looked down into her eyes "You know these people can be part of our lives forever, its not like when you were younger, you're not just going to move away and never see them again." He reminded her "remember, me and Charlie, Avonlea, you're still in contact with us and with Diana and Fred, we're all still close..."

"Can you believe where its taken us Gilbert?" she asked him. "I mean you're a Doctor!..."

"Josie can you believe it is on her way to being a physicotheaptist, Charlie is an accountant!" Gilbert smiled.

"The one thing he swore he would never be!" Anne laughed.

"Fred is a bank manager." Gilbert listed

"Diana a housewife." Anne countered.

"Ruby is a traveller across the world!" Gilbert continued

"Do you think they'll ever settle in one place?" Anne asked Gilbert.

Gilbert chuckled "a far of land maybe, somewhere exotic."

"You my love, are about to enter into training to be a teacher." He smiled. "I can't tell you how proud I am of you." He whispered finally.

She smiled softly "You told me long ago you thought you owed something to society, you wanted to fight against ignorance..." she shrugged "I'm no doctor but I think I can instill those ideals into the younger generation."

"You'll inspire." Gilbert smiled.

"And who knows, in our little town of Avonlea there may be the next penman of the next great Canadian novel."

"No great doctors?" he asked.

"No, it already generated one of those." She flirted with him to which he smiled widely.

"Are you looking forward to Marilla coming?" he asked her.

Anne nodded enthusiastically, "Avonlea feels like a lifetime ago..." she trailed.

"We'll be spending time there in the summer..." he tried.

"I know I know, and I meant what I said it was, it is my first home." She admitted. "And we won't be so far away from it as we are now." She said quietly.

"Seven hour drive isn't terrible." He tried again.

"But hardly a daily commute," she admitted. "45 minutes is much more manageable." She smiled.

He looked down at her and asked "Post should have come by now, do you want to head down?" he asked her.

She nodded as the headed towards the elevator. "When I graduated from College so much was still so uncertain, I was all mixed up by what was happening with Roy, what my feelings were towards you, I mean love wasn't great inside my head you know..."

He nodded listening.

"... but I don't know we've not had a smooth time of it either, and I know we had those days apart." She said thoughtfully, "but I'm glad we're together, I'm glad your my nearly husband." She smiled up at him.

"And you my nearly wife." He grinned. "Always where I wanted us to be." He told her.

"What I mean is, I didn't have a great impression of love before, love was poisonous for so long I didn't equate what we had as love because it was great it was fantastic..." she turned into him as the elevator opened and she kissed him sweetly "...you've made love _for_ me."

He smiled proudly and kissed her gently. "I'm glad I'm such a good example of it then." He said as the entered the elevator.

She chuckled as the doors closed "Its so strange to think all of this, us living together, Joy, all of it might never have happened if I'd stayed with Roy." She said shaking her head "I mean I could be looking towards being a Gardner not a Blythe!" she exclaimed.

Gilbert laughed "No point getting hung up on all the what ifs." He said. "I sometimes wonder what if we did get together in the second year when we kissed what if you'd told me and somehow I was fine with it, what if..." he said with a shrug, "you know what I come up with?" he asked her.

She shrugged in response.

"That I would still be in this elevator with you right now, we'd somehow end up here anyway, so there's no point in tossing the odds about how it happened."

The elevator dinged as they exited onto the ground floor meeting the post man as he was digging through the mail. "Which apartment?" he asked them.

"Oh no, we can wait." Anne shook her head.

"No no, its alright now I still have all the others to do anyway." He said with a smile.

"The Penthouse please?" Gilbert asked.

"Ah!" He smiled. "The big envelope from the university." He said. "Awaiting result?" he asked her.

"Yes." Anne nodded.

The post man pulled out their bundle and handed them to her including the big brown envelope. "Good luck Anne." He smiled before he continued his work.

As they were walking away Anne whispered to Gilbert "Hey how did he know my name?"

Gilbert smiled "He delivers our mail he knows everyone's name."

Anne cringed realising her mistake as she called for the elevator, luckily the quiet time of day meant it hadn't moved in the few moments they were on the ground level, they entered the elevator Gilbert took the rest of the mail while Anne held onto the brown envelope.

He smiled as they went up the building "Aren't you going to open it?" he asked her.

"Its one of those moments, one of those life moments where you work towards something and then its there in front of you and you have to take it all in or the moment is lost forever in the abyss of eternity, poof just gone forever."

Gilbert nodded "That's how I felt opening my envelope." He finished speaking as the door chimed to their floor and he took the key out of the elevator, at the same time his phone chimed where he took the phone out and looked at the message he smiled. "Yes!" he exclaimed, and Anne looked towards him confused "The Lambs board have just approved the sale of the place to Leslie and Owen." Gilbert smiled.

"Oh that is good news." Anne smiled.

"we should let Leslie and Owen find out in their own time though right?" Gilbert asked her.

"Right." She said finally ripping the envelope open. She looked down at the results and smiled "A distinction." She sighed in relief.

Gilbert swept her up into his arms. "I could have told you that," he smiled "congratulations sweetheart." Before they kissed. "Fancy celebrating?" he asked her.

"Oh a party?" she asked him "One last one before we go?"

Gilbert laughed "I was thinking a more exclusive one for just you and I right now, but that's okay too, an end of a era party, we can invite everyone we love, one last time." He smiled.

Anne chuckled. "Oh." She blushed realising her mistake "but good, I'd like a party, and I umm... would like to celebrate." She flirted.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Oh Yeah!" she grinned back. "but um don't you have work?"

"Not for another couple of hours." He smiled.

"Then after we're going out to celebrate again, the big dinner out." She asked.

"Yeah." He acknowledged carrying her towards the bedroom.

"So we can celebrate again?" she asked him.

"Oh Yeah." He concurred "and again and again and again..."


	77. A&G of PEI 41

Anne stood next to Gilbert looking at the building in front of her.

"Wow!" Anne exclaimed.

"Yeah I know." Gilbert nodded. "What do you think?" he asked her.

"It was built 2009 right?" she asked.

"I know, its relevantly new, but I don't think its lacking in any charm, which is what a lot of newer builds lack." Gilbert started.

"That's not why..." she started but didn't get to finish.

"And it is small but we should really start small, and maybe as our income and family expand we can look for a bigger house then..."

"I wasn't..." she tried again but again he cut her off nervously.

"I mean really now, it'll be an investment, we have a small income we should be okay, its not forever but..."

With this Anne turned into him and gave him a kiss on the lips which quietened his frantic outburst.

She smiled up at him straightening the leather jacket she once bought him. "It wasn't a criticism, I'm actually impressed that it wasn't a brick building."

Gilbert smiled "You don't like too much bricks in houses."

"I know that." She smiled. "How do you?" she asked.

"I told you I know you." Gilbert smiled. "What do you think?" he asked.

"It looks charming." Anne replied. "Shall we look inside?" she asked him holding the key up. To which he nodded as they went to the front door.

She opened it directly into the living area, and open plan which lead through from a living area to a kitchen diner. She nodded gently looking at the titled floor which went throughout the living area. "Not bad for open plan." She nodded. "I like the floor but it will need a cosy mat for our feet." She smiled. She looked round surprised for a moment "that's the only window?" she wondered "that's lots of light for one window." She nodded.

"I know." He nodded.

"I like the wood in the kitchen, more traditional then a modern design." She said.

"I thought you'd like it." He nodded.

"Oh wouldn't it be beautiful if we got a wooden table right there?" she asked him sweetly.

"Its long and thin." Gilbert nodded. "No fireplace."

"Well we can't have everything otherwise we'd never move." Anne joked.

"I don't want you disappointed." Gilbert said quietly.

"Well, I've not been yet." She smiled to him.

He grinned before he told her "The bedrooms are this way."

* * *

"Marilla!" Anne exclaimed as she opened the door and hugged the older women "Oh I'm so glad you made it!"

Marilla smiled gently "I'm hardly going to miss it now am I?" she asked. "I'm just sorry the Blythe's couldn't come." She said practically.

"I do love my soon to be in-laws." Anne said carefully picking up the suitcase and bringing them both inside, "I am glad though that _you_ came to my graduation." She said firmly "Its your success as much as mine." She said as they crossed the apartment.

"Stuff and nonsense." Marilla shook her head "its a testament to your hard work not mine."

Anne smiled "A testament I couldn't have made had it not been for the stability and the love you and Matthew provided." She said logically opening the spare room door, where they both entered in, where upon Marilla smiled.

"Cornflowers?" Marilla asked upon seeing them.

"Aren't they darling?" Anne asked, standing and smelling them "Smell them Marilla, drink them in!"

Marilla smiled at her briefly "You always put the strangest things in your room."

"Flowers are not strangers." Anne told her "they are all friends, although maybe I should have put the paper whites in here." She continued thinking "they are by far the friendlier flowers, but then these are so much more cheerful..."

"The flowers are fine." Marilla smiled. "A little odd in the bedroom..."

"Gilbert loves flowers in the bedroom..."

"Gilbert loves you..." Marilla interrupted

"Thats also true." Anne smiled.

"Speaking of which?" she asked as they came back out of the bedroom the case left in the spare room.

"He's at work." Anne smiled. "Although he should be home any minute, he said it would be about now."

Marilla rolled her eyes "Can he not just relax?"

Anne laughed "He says hard work is good for the soul." She smiled "I think his dad might have taught him that."

"And you Anne?" she asked.

"I handed in my notice already," Anne admitted. "I unlike Gilbert know how to be a lady of leisure." She grinned.

Marilla's lips upturned "I should hope so."

Anne laughed, "Well he couldn't be a man of leisure of he tried!" Anne corrected herself.

"How's your book going?" she asked.

"Actually its a surprise for Gilbert." Anne said.

"I think he knows you're doing a book." Marilla said dryly.

"I should hope so, no what I mean is, not that I'm doing the book rather the name I'm publishing the book in." Anne smiled "It'll be released the day of our wedding with a box sent to me a little early it means the name I'm publishing it under will be completely legal and legitimate." She smiled.

"You're publishing it under your married name?" Marilla asked to which Anne nodded with a huge grin on her face.

"Anne Blythe." Anne confirmed. "I'm going to dedicate it again to him and I'll sign it, he'll have my first signature as Anne Blythe." Anne smiled.

"You know how you're going to do it?" she asked.

Anne managed to giggle out "I've been practicing it since we got engaged!" to which Marilla rolled her eyes. "How are the twins?"

"Davy has settled on being a farmer." Marilla said with a smile.

"He chose the trade after all." Anne nodded.

"It is a relief in some ways, but its something I want to speak to you about." Marilla said to her.

"Oh?" Anne asked.

"Well its about the farm." She said. "when the time comes and I'm no longer here, I'm leaving the farm to you, Davy and Thea."

Anne looked wide eyed in surprise at Marilla. "but, we're not..."

"Family?" Marilla asked. "You must know you are now." She said quietly before she continued. "Now, Davy I believe will maintain the farm and as such the house, but the deeds to the property will be in all of your names, if one day you choose you could sell your third to Davy," Marilla said practically.

Anne nodded thoughtfully. "I hate the idea of 'selling' Green Gables to anyone is abhorrent to me, but that being said..." she said thoughtfully. "Until I can bring myself to it, I suppose I can trust Davy with my third to manage the land he can use it as his own to farm on, any changes of course I would want to be consulted until I sold it to him."

"Even with the farm working as it is, it'll be sometime before he was able to do that anyway." Marilla said practically. "Are you looking forward to coming home?" she asked Anne.

"We _both_ are." She nodded. "I know we haven't been back much especially since I moved out here," she said slowly "but we have the summer with you before we move down to Charlottetown." She said systematically.

"Are you sure you don't want a proper honeymoon?" Marilla asked her "if its money you're worried about..." Marilla trailed.

"No, no no." Anne shook her head "truly Marilla we want to get settled and we don't have much time to get the things we want doing to the house done before he starts work and I go into university for my teacher training."

With that the elevator binged and the doors opened to Gilbert coming in. "Marilla." He said with a smile coming over to the sofa, Marilla stood and the two embraced. "I thought I'd make it back before you got here." He said before they pulled back and they sat back down, Gilbert sitting next to Anne with a quick kiss and his arm around her back as he settled.

"I only just got here." Marilla admitted. "How was work?" she asked.

"Well I won't need to go on the treadmill tonight." Gilbert smiled "One of the advantages of being a waiter is that you're walking around a lot." He smiled.

"Could you not work as a doctor?" Marilla asked.

"After my intern year I'll be able to pick up shifts outside of my work hours if I want them, during my intern year my work is still being checked over there is a much better doctor over my shoulder checking my work..."

"Gil-" Anne started.

"I'm not being self-detrimental, its the truth, and with good reason, these aren't case studies anymore, this is real people and real life, in my case little people." He said with a wide grin on his face. "I'd hate to have something go wrong with one of them."

"I can't believe John Blythe's son is a fully fledged Doctor." Marilla smiled.

"I just hope I don't disappoint anyone." Gilbert said quietly.

"Impossible." Marilla smiled. "Well with the exception of your Great Aunt."

Gilbert chuckled "well lets see I've been living in sin for these past two years at least. Heaven only knows what she would make of my life past that."

"I seem to remember your father saying she said you ought to have taken over the farm, that it was your responsibility as the heir." Marilla added.

"Yes she disagreed with my academic life." Gilbert nodded.

"Your father didn't agree." Marilla said to him firmly.

"I'm glad." Gilbert said quietly.

"He's very proud of you." Marilla remarked, then looked at them both "of both of you." She said with a smile, "as well we all should be."

Gilbert managed a blushing smile while Anne thanked her quietly.

"I'm being rude." Anne said breaking the lull "do you need a drink Marilla?" she asked her.

Marilla nodded her head and asked for a tea before Anne got up and went to the kitchen "So, Gilbert, work?" she said with a smile, to which he laughed. "Only another couple of days then we get to come home, with some money in the pocket." He said practically.

"My work would have seen to that." Anne said with a grin.

"Alright alright!" Gilbert objected "You know what they say about idle hands."

Marilla chuckled "the devils workshop."

"I inherited it I swear." He said with a smile "my dad could never be idle either."

Marilla nodded, "its true."

"You're encouraging him!" Anne teased.

"So says the women who got us both summer jobs, tutoring at the school." Gilbert retorted.

Marilla looked to Anne "fine one for secrets."

"Miss Stacy called and asked. The school is running it along with the summer school, it will be good for experience in the classroom, although its not teaching as such its tutoring, its for the high school students who are a few credits short of graduation."

"Oh!" Marilla nodded. "so you'll be seeing Davy." Marilla said, both Anne and Gilbert looked confused.

"But Coach..." Gilbert started.

"Oh, it was only his maths he failed in, its just the one credit he needs to make up, he's done well on the rest of his modules." Marilla shook her head. "Its nothing to worry about because I know he can do it if he only focuses."

"Will Davy graduate with the rest of the class?" Gilbert asked.

Marilla nodded. "He gets to go to graduation, will be part of graduation he just won't get his diploma until after he completes the maths module of it."

"Well," Gilbert said thoughtfully "he has that to look forward to."

"He wants both of you to see it." Marilla said with a smile. "He made me get me and you two a ticket."

Anne smiled "we'll be honoured."

Gilbert nodded "Well if he gets Anne or I in summer school, we'll see he passes."

"Davy wants to take over Green Gables." Anne told Gilbert.

"Oh?" Gilbert asked. "Well good for him, Green Gables and the property is a good size a good living for one person."

"Once its been cleared." Marilla acknowledged "a few of the fields haven't been worked since Matthew died." She turned the conversation back "so, does it pay well?" Marilla asked.

"Fine, considering we'll be doing it a month before we marry." Anne acknowledged.

"Have you any plans for your wedding yet?" Marilla asked her.

Anne's face lit up as she jumped up to find her folder.


	78. A&G of PEI 42

**I just want to say thank you- thank you to everyone still reading this, the story is so long (I really should have broken it down into smaller reads!) and I know I'm sporadic in posting, but I do appreciate, every comment, every like and follow, it puts a smile on a girls face who sometimes feels so terribly out of her depth in life!**

 **love Carrots x**

* * *

I smile at the crowd we have in front of us.

Gilbert and I certainly know how to make friends. Whoever knows us, knows that.

You see today is one of those days. Its beautiful and wonderful, but also bittersweet.

It's my turn to graduate today you see.

I loved seeing Gilbert succeeding. He sometimes has such low self esteem, I wonder how I ever thought he was arrogant. He had a long way from beginning to end you see, and I suppose I have too, and of course its not the end of our story at all. I doubt we're even beginning it, but He's now Doctor Gilbert Blythe. I'm Anne Shirley (so soon to be Anne Blythe I get such tantalising chills just thinking about it!) M.A.

I had my graduation this morning, along with Owen and Katherine, both of whom are present this evening. Its a celebration you see, of success, for all of us.

Owen has a contract with a publishers. Its a series of books writing memoirs with war heroes. They loved his work so much with Captain Jim, they ordered a whole series!

Leslie got her place on the midwifery course at the university, they'll be staying in Kingsport for the foreseeable future and the Lambs signed the contract with them on this apartment! They move in next week!

Thanks to Katherine's excellent work as a junior editor at our publishers she's been offered a junior editors job at The University of Toronto Press! By title it is a step sideways but imagine working your way up somewhere like that! She finally has her first book published!

Cornelia have finally accepted her fate of 'falling in love with a man', although in concept she is quite outraged, in practice I think she is finding it quite lovely. She plans on continuing to nanny, she loves those children she takes care of very much! I don't know, maybe one day she might want some of her own!

Lastly, me. Yes I have my M.A I am very proud of it, I also got my place at the University of PEI in Charlottetown for my teachers certificate! I will very soon be a teacher too!

Gilbert was right about our little house too. It is beautiful! Although we don't plan to move in until after we're married in August! Ingleside Drive is 6 minutes drive from the hospital, it needs some modernisation, few licks of paint , but you can move right into it, and Gilbert and I have already decided to spend our honeymoon, honeymooning in our new home, so we can get paint on the wall to make it look better and Fred's brother is a plumber, he installs bathrooms and kitchens, so we have a fair deal with him to do the essentials and Gilbert already has plans to do some DIY on our honeymoon! So we have almost a month to work our honeymoon! Oh but I do look forward to it! Making it _ours_! Making us ours!

Today is a celebration! But a bittersweet one, I love the family we've made here, I love the comfort I find in them. I guess, its something I find easier I suppose, with having moved around so much when I was younger to find comfort where I can. Gilbert always says I'm low maintenance, I'm easy to please I suppose I'm content. Isn't that funny? After all that's happened, being content can be hard, but I'm happy, I work hard, I have an amazing fiancé and a close family group. How could I not be content?

"Won't you reconsider?" Phillippa asked me plopping down next to me "You know Kingsport won't be the same without you." She sighed "Like the last time." She muttered.

"We really can't now Phil." I admit, "and despite your good company and all the memories associated here..." I trail and with a smile say "and anyway we've already put our deposit on the house. I have my place at university, Gil is all set."

"Our Gilbert a doctor!" Phil exclaimed with a smile "I remember the first time I saw him, he was... well he is still..."

"Mrs Blake take it easy you'll start blushing soon." I chuckle.

"I was so confused why you were best friends with him but not in love." She said shaking her head "but look eight years later..." Phil smiled.

"Has it really been that long!?" I exclaimed.

Phil smiled and nodded "So much has changed." She said thoughtfully.

"And yet, some hasn't." I say quietly.

Phil looked to me "Are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm just thinking," I admit "I have old friends now." I say shaking my head.

"Not so old thanks very much." Phil acted hurt.

"No, not old friends, friends who I've had a long time. Diana, Fred, Ruby, Josie, Charlie, you, Jo."

"From Avonlea onwards." Phil said quietly.

"Yeah." I say thoughtfully, "and my four year boyfriend, I mean it could have been longer had I..."

"No." Phil said shaking her head. "Don't do that."

"You're the one who reprimanded me when I didn't back in Sophomore year!"

Phil crossed her arms defensively. "Well..." she said in a teasing huff "I think there was more to it then met the eye, which you needed to work through before you were willing to accept the love Gilbert was offering."

I smile and with a nod agreed.

"I once hear it said that we are only ever willing to accept the love with think we're worthy of." Phil said. "Its not just you who learned it, look at my Jo, I think I needed to know that Alex and Alonzo wasn't for me, before I fell for Jo, otherwise I'd be looking for Alex and Alonzo's of the world forever." She admitted. "And you needed to know what love wasn't before you could see what love was."

I smile again. "Yes I can live with that." I say reflecting. "Gilbert is wonderful." I admit quietly. "I wish I could have learnt that lesson just a little sooner, but I'm glad of the friendship we had, even if it was a morphing relationship from the start."

"And here you are, Master of Arts." Phil smiled "and soon to move away, to start, again?" Phil said with a smile.

"No, not to start again, we have each other and our friends we've made over the years here, in our hearts too, I don't think you ever really start over, its all linked together."

Phil smiled "And you like your new home?" Phil asked.

"Oh yes!" I acknowledge.

"What are you so excited about?" Gilbert asked coming over to us.

I grin, "Our future." I tell him in return.

Gilbert blushed for a moment "Yes, that is very exciting." He acknowledged.

"I was telling Phil I have 'old friends' now." I tell him.

He thought for a moment and nodded "Its reassuring." He admits to me and looks me in the eye. I know his thoughts, I know he knows my past, more then anyone, more then any file could tell you, because I've told him it. There's this compassionate look to his eyes whenever its brought up to start with, but he doesn't make me feel like he feels sorry for me. I guess because he knows what loneliness is, what it looks like. We share it in common he and I.

Phil smiles before she's distracted over to Josh.

Gilbert stands beside me for a moment in silence before he says "Its hard to say goodbye to familiarity."

I nod my head "Yeah it is." I admit before I take his hand in mine. He knows what I mean by it. The silent 'as long as I have you' gesture.

* * *

Saturday morning is rushed with final packing, Marilla is brought the old truck so we have the room to put in some extra things without overloading the car, she's also towing my empty jeep, driving heavy vehicles isn't exactly hard once you've grown up on a farm. Its hard work but by lunch time everything is loaded.

"Don't feel like you have to follow me exactly, we'll meet back in Avonlea." Marilla tells us before she leaves.

Its not long before we are the only things left standing.

"I know it was never 'home'," Anne admitted, "but it seems so strange to not be thinking of here when I think of where I live."

Gilbert smiled thoughtfully. "Us and the flowers." He said to her "seems a waste to leave them here." He said.

Anne's eyes perked. "Then lets not." She said. "We have one last place to visit before we go." She said to him.

* * *

Anne has taken a walk so I can have a private moment to myself as I stand here. I'll do the same for her when she comes back. There's something profound about standing here now, Its no longer a sad place but more, reminds me of what could have happened, what might have happened, but what didn't happen at the pinnacles of my life. I place the cornflowers in my hand on the bench and look to the plague.

"I want you to know, we aren't leaving you." I say to the plague looking at her name. "We can't." I almost chock but hold it together "not really." I nod and look to her name again. "Joy, you need to know what you achieved in your existence, what an impact you had on everyone. I hope wherever you are, you see it." I whisper a bit more fearing I might draw attention to myself if I speak louder. "You changed me forever sweet girl, and I will never ever forget you. Mamma and I, yes we're moving and we might not be here very often but, we won't really be away because we leave a part of us here." I tell her "and that part is part of us and so you'll come too." I can feel my eyes welling I squeeze my hands into them and try to control the upwelling of emotion. "I won't fail you, not ever again." I tell her. I take a deep breath and whimper "I fell in love twice my whole life baby girl, you know, I fell in love with Mamma, and I fell in love with you." I finally recede to my need to sit and sit on the bench marked for her "I love you Joy." I don't know how long I sit there, it couldn't have been longer then five minutes when Anne came back she found my head bowed. She sits beside me and slips her arm round my back before I bury my head into her shoulder as I cry. "I don't know why." I whisper to her.

Anne's hand in my hair playing with the curls I feel her lips upturn next to my scalp. "I do," She admitted "and its normal." I look up into those grey eyes, today they are a dove grey, so clear in colour so exact. "Processing grief takes time, we've kept ourselves busy and when we stop..."

"We get to process it and think." I nod. "Makes sense."

"Its okay to still be sad about it." She says to me.

"Yeah?" I double check.

"Its okay to feel Gilbert, its okay to grieve." She tells me.

An memory of my five stages of denial when my dad was sick pops up in my mind.

"Up, I don't want to get up, I just want to be miserable." I cried. My mom had held me in her arms for another hour that night before I sat up suddenly wiped my eyes and proclaimed "I wish... I wish I didn't have to feel anything."

"Its okay to feel Gilbert." My mom had assured me "Its okay to grieve."

I hadn't believed her at the time. I was thirteen I didn't get it, what's strange is that here I was twelve years later and I'm only just getting to grips with the fact, 'its okay to grieve.' I take Anne's hand for a moment and plant a kiss there smelling her salty and sweet scent before I look to her. "I'll go to the car." I tell her "Give you a few minutes on your own to say..." I shake my head.

"Au revoir." Anne says softly.

I smile and whisper "until we meet again." We look to each other for a few seconds before I kiss her gently on her lips before I stand. I stroke the wood "Au revoir Joy." I whisper before I walk to the car. As I walk away I whisper to myself to remind myself "its okay to grieve." I might still convince myself its okay.

* * *

I wait for him to be out of ear shot. "I don't know what your daddy just said." I tell the bench "but its not for me to know." I smile sadly. "We're not leaving." I tell her. "It seems such a shallow thing to say because we are and I know what its like to be left and disregarded, and we aren't doing that Joy." I say to her. "Your daddy, you'd be so proud of him, he wants to take care of sick babies, he wants to give them chances in life and he'll work harder then anyone to do it." I nod. "And I'm going to be a teacher," I grin. "But we'll come back here, whenever we can, and I swear you're not forgotten." I smile "but then I think I know that you didn't feel that." I smile "You know what I remember?" I tell her "I remember feeling everything you did in those hours you were with us, and there was so much love there, and I know you felt it too." I smile with a tear running down my cheek "And sometimes I feel your presence, like now, when its quiet and its just me and your daddy or its just us, I feel you there and I know you've not really gone away." I bite my lip "My mom and dad, they had no choice, they died in a car crash when I was a baby, but then sometimes I look back and I wonder if I was ever really alone, because I wouldn't leave you and I don't think you have left us either, and I have to believe that goes back as well as forward, it would be the only kind thing." I nod, "you're here, watching us as we grow as people, when we marry in August you'll be there watching us, when you have little brothers and sisters..." I trail for a moment "So we're not physically here, but neither are you, but we're always together, you'll always be ours." I stand and sigh "we better get back to Avonlea. We're already going to be late getting back." I smile and say "We'll come back and visit." I tell her "and we love you so much!"


	79. House of Dreams Chapter 1

**This was meant to be the chapter for the wedding but it sort of got away from me!**

 **So I know there are long pauses in my writing at the moment, it is hard to find the time, but it has been productive, I think! Shout out to all those who follow and comment on a regular bases, Love to you all! And yes, italics you'll find are from the books.**

 **Carrots x**

* * *

"Oh Marilla!" Anne exclaimed her fingers running through the flowers again "These Coral honeysuckle are just perfect!" she exclaimed standing at the gate of the old orchard where the ceremony would take place. "And I love the name, honeysuckle!" she exclaimed "I can just imagine the little bees coming for their pollen, suckling like a baby does on its mothers breast!" she exclaimed.

Marilla shook her head "I'll confess when you said you wanted natural flowers for you wedding it was quite convenient no extra costs in flowers to be used for one day, but are you _sure_ its what you want?"

Anne smiled "Natures flowers were one of my best friends growing up, I had no one to really talk to, but I could talk to the plants and the tress the flowers and the birds." She sighed happily "the first day I came to Green Gables was like this do you remember?" she asked Marilla who shook her head "Oh I do!" Anne explained. "It was only June but Green Gables was blooming just like this." She said as they moved into the orchard the fence covered with Star Jasmines she smiled "the bushes were even blooming and the trees were covered just like this with fruit almost ready to pluck and eat. The flowers were whispering in the breeze, it me, it seemed a magical wonderland, a dream, something wonderful to reach for through a veil so ready to touch..."

Marilla looked at her seriously, she listened carefully to what she said "And what did you find?" she asked her.

"My deepest dreams came true, even the dreams I dare not dream." She said looking to Marilla knowingly.

"Gilbert." Marilla said with a nod to her.

"Not _only_ Gilbert." She stated "but a home, a family, friends." She smiled. "I'm not the same person as walked into Green Gables all that time ago and I owe it to you and Matthew, everyone in Avonlea who has loved me." She told Marilla with a smile.

"So the flowers are sorted." Marilla said after a pause which had lasted a bit too long, "The minister has arranged for the chairs and the tables to be delivered this afternoon." Marilla told her.

"The Blythe's are bringing over the cake and have arranged for the food to be delivered tomorrow morning."

"I must admit Anne, I heard some horror stories of the bride-to-be from the other mothers," she said with a sly smile "You are incredibly laid back about it."

Anne smiled then looked at Marilla "I'm marrying the man I love." Anne said with a smile to Marilla "if nothing else goes right tomorrow but that happens, it doesn't matter, I'll be blissfully happy, because I'll be married to him." Anne smiled then looked at her watch, "Oh I better go and pick up Phil and the girls from the train station." Anne said to Marilla.

" _I remember telling Matthew, that evening when he brought me to Green Gables, that I never expected to be a bride because I was so homely no one would ever want to marry me—_ " Anne said softly to Diana. Later that day while she and Diana were readying for her hen night. The other girls and Jo were staying in Avonlea's only hotel, they would meet them in town before heading out to party. Anne was sitting at her vanity mirror finishing off her makeup while Diana sat on her bed. " _...unless some foreign missionary did. I had an idea then that foreign missionaries couldn't afford to be finicky in the matter of looks if they wanted a girl to risk her life among cannibals._ " She said with a laugh at her own folly. " _You should have seen the foreign missionary Priscilla_ is engaged to _. He was as handsome and inscrutable as those daydreams we once planned to marry ourselves, Diana; he was the best dressed man I ever met, and he raved over Priscilla's 'ethereal, golden beauty.' But of course there are no cannibals in Japan._ "

Diana smiled "Is there any missionary as handsome and as dashing as our own Avonlea's Gilbert?" she asked her.

Anne shook her head "I had no intentions of marrying in reality you know, I thought I was so damaged beyond measure no one would want something so used." Anne admitted quietly. "I never dreamed **I** would marry so well."

Diana sighed "I never really understood that side of you Anne, you always did yourself down." She shook her head the looked up at the dress hanging from the hook. _"Your wedding dress is a dream, anyhow," sighed Diana rapturously. "You'll look like a perfect queen in it—you're so tall and slender. How DO you keep so slim, Anne? I'm fatter than ever—I'll soon have no waist at all."_

Anne sighed " _Stoutness and slimness seem to be matters of predestination," said Anne. "At all events, Mrs. Harmon Andrews can't say to you what she said to me when I came home from_ Kingsport _, 'Well, Anne, you're just about as skinny as ever.' It sounds quite romantic to be 'slender,' but 'skinny' has a very different tang."_

"Ask that husband of yours." Diana smiled.

"He's not my husband **yet**." Anne said with nervous smile "he might still change his mind."

"Oh Bish!" Diana exclaimed "I've never met someone so devoted, not even my Fred, Gilbert doesn't change his mind once its made up."

"Or his heart?" Anne asked her with a little smile. "No, not my Gilbert." She said shaking her head. "I must admit, I'm quite excited to be his wife."

Diana laughed "as you should be." She chuckled. "Now!" Diana said leaping into action once she saw Anne was ready. "We should go and meet up with all those ladies!"

* * *

Gilbert took a deep breath as he looked himself in the mirror.

"Tell me you are done priming yourself?" he heard from the other side of the door.

Gilbert rolled his eyes and opened it to Josh standing at the door frame. "Happy?" he asked his friend.

"Not until you've had your stag do!" Josh claimed back.

"No Strippers." Gilbert reminded him again.

"Oh, I thought you said 'strippers'" he teased "Did I get it wrong?"

"Josh!" Gilbert exclaimed. "I have a church minister and a man of high morals in the stag party, my old English teacher..."

"I don't understand how you're friends with your teacher..." Josh scoffed as if it were insane.

"He was young and we made friends with his son..." Gilbert looked to Josh who looked like he was about to objct "Don't worry he's Davy's age he's not coming too."

Josh did the maths in his head "Just how young was this English teacher when..."

"Too young and he'll tell you that, but he did it all the same and with no real ill effects, he grew up, fast and took care of his son."

Josh wanted to change the subject this much was obvious "This is your last night of freedom my boy!" Josh reminded him "You'll have an old ball and chain by this time tomorrow."

"You mean I won't need to be part of the dating scene anymore? I won't need to figure out what my type is, and how to go after it? I won't need to navigate through the one million different ways I could offend or unintentionally hurt, or have an anxiety attack wondering if I'll ever find someone I could love."

Josh looked at Gilbert "Is Anne your only girlfriend?" Josh asked him.

Gilbert swallowed "I was never in a secure enough position in my teens to feel like I should date, then by the time I was, I had already fell for Anne." He said quietly "there's never been anyone but her." Gilbert admitted "and I've told you that before."

"Yeah, but I thought you meant, you know 'in love' not, dated." Josh told him.

"Well to me they were one and the same." Gilbert said as they finally turned down the landing towards the stairs. "You can't tell me you never noticed I was a bit of a nerd." Gilbert admitted to him.

Josh chuckled "Quite escaped my notice buddy." He said as they started to walk down the stairs.

"Josh, I am serious you know, no strippers." Gilbert emphasised again.

"Is that what you wanted?" Josh said with a smirk to his friend.

* * *

Anne turned on her bed picking up her phone as she received a text. She smiled at the sight of the sender.

"Who would be texting now?" Diana asked as she turned on the makeshift bed on the floor of Anne's room. She was staying there the night after the hen do and before the wedding, the children were tucked safety in Green Gables down in the living room, they were safely asleep when they had come in at half ten. Anne was quick to come up to her bedroom to lay on her bed.

"Gilbert." Anne whispered.

"What?" Diana asked her "you aren't going now, its bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding."

"Thats the day of the wedding we still have half an hour." Anne said pointing her phone at Diana to show it was a little before half eleven. "I'll be right back." She whispered.

There was no stopping Anne, she ran up towards lovers lane at Gilbert command. She smiled as she saw him there at the edge of the lane, even from a distance they smiled and ran towards each other meeting in the middle. He held her close when they met and as he placed her on the ground his lips met hers. Anne could taste the alcohol on him as she had no doubt he could on her.

"I miss you." He murmured lowly.

She smiled blushing slightly "How did your stag night go?" she asked.

"Josh surprised me with no strippers." Gilbert smiled. "Thank God, he listened, not just you but Diana wouldn't have liked it either."

"Or Josie." Anne added.

"Few rounds, bowling, which I only get worse at the more I drink." He said with a grin, wrapping the jacket closer "Soon this jacket will be accurate." He smiled at the old lettermans jacket she wore, a now faded green still his surname lay on her back.

"It will." She admitted and kissed him again, her fingers going through his curls, she felt the familiarity of her body turn for him. She smiled against his lips and whispered "I never thought such happiness would be within my grasp when I first got it."

"I remember the first time you put it on, I remember thinking just how beautiful you were in it, and the thought did flash across my mind..." he trailed for a moment his cheeks going slightly pink "...just how perfect your name and my name went together." He said stepping closer to her again "it torn me apart every time I got it back." He admitted.

She smiled up at him biting her bottom lip "never again Gilbert." She whispered to him. "I'm forever yours..." she blushed.

This was enough for him to lift her again from the ground her tiny weight finding itself against a tree.

"I hope you didn't expect us to have wasted the last two month." She said with a smile "giving up at the final hurdle are we?" she asked him.

He laughed "I just missed you." He whispered to her looking her in the eyes "and anyway fifteen minutes is hardly time to make sure the job is down properly now is it?" he asked her to which she laughed merrily.

"Well if you're going to do a job..." he said with a grin before he placed her on the ground. "Plus I always loved the idea that the next time we make love it is a legal requirement." Which made Anne giggle more.

"To consummate the marriage." Anne laughed "see I thought in some cultures if the consummation came first it means you're already married."

"In England and Wales, in a straight couple relationship you can seek an annulment if a partner can't consummate the relationship."

"Gilbert..." Anne started to object.

"The only religion to enforce it is the roman catholic..."

"Did you come to talk about irrelevant information on annulments?" she asked him with a smile.

He chuckled "No." He admitted. "I came to say; I love you, I love you Anne." He whispered. "Let me walk you back to the gate, we have time yes?" he asked her.

"Yes." She admitted.

They walked together for a moment in silence before he asked her "It feels like history is repeating itself." He said quietly as they walked down the lane "the number of times we walked here together." He smiled rubbing his thumb against her held hand.

"I'll never understand Gilbert, why did you forgive me? That first full year, you were an angel and I was so mean." She said shaking her head.

" _All heaven opened before me," supplemented Gilbert. "From that moment I looked forward to tomorrow._ When I left you that day and went home _I was the happiest boy in the world. Anne had forgiven me."_

 _"I think you had the most to forgive. I was an ungrateful little wretch—and after you had really saved my life that day on the pond, too. How I loathed that load of obligation at first! I don't deserve the happiness that has come to me."_

"You do." He said simply as they reached the gate at Green Gables "You held a burden so heavy Anne, it had wounded you so deeply, I can't blame you for holding me at arms length, because I think we both felt deeply for each other and its those who we feel for deepest which can hurt us the deepest." He reminded her. "We needed that time, all that time, to build our friendship our trust our relationship, so that when everything else failed us, our deepest foundations were found in each other." He whispered.

"I suppose that's why it hurt us both so much when we lost Joy." She said quietly. "I have a seat for her." Anne admitted. "For Joy, a seat at our wedding along with one for my mom and dad and Matthew, I thought their places could be saved for just them." Anne told him.

Gilbert smiled and nodded "I can't think of anything more perfect." He told her "except for maybe the beautiful creature I see right now."

Anne smiled "you old charmer." She laughed. "I should go, it'll be tomorrow soon." She said looking at her watch again.

"Then until tomorrow." He smiled.

She reached across the gate and kissed him again. "I miss you too." She whispered to him. "I can't believe we vowed not to make love for... how long now?" she asked him.

"Two months." He smiled.

"Oh wow!" she blushed at him. She looked up at him her eyelashes fluttering "I'm so glad I'll never have to be without you ever again." She said romantically.

"You too." He smiled.

She reached over the gate and kissed him one last time. "Goodnight my love, For tomorrow I shall be your bride!" she smiled before she turned and ran down the field towards Green Gables, just as she opened the door and closed it again his watch turned midnight.

"Until we meet again." He smiled.


	80. House of Dreams Chapter 2

**I know long pauses and I don't like doing it either! Its been a crazy 6 months but today I had some time to myself and this doesn't really happen! But I'm doing my best I'm sorry it's so here there and everywhere**

 **love Carrots x**

 **here's the wedding!**

* * *

Green Gables Old Orchard sang that day.

The morning had been packed with preparing the Orchard with chairs and a small stand for Jo to officiate. The only thing which had needed to be moved was an archway which had been covered with flowers stood behind Jo on the stand. The isles were decorated down one side, with the flowers and ribbons, the tables were tucked on the far side of the orchard waiting to be put up once the ceremony was complete.

Gilbert paced as midday approached. His suit was certainly less formal then he saw himself in when he married but he was no less grateful for it being so. Light grey trousers were held up brown suspenders top of the off white shirt he wore with a Ivory bow tie. He had a light grey jacket on the back of his chair but truth was it was such a warm day he didn't need it and his pacing wasn't helping.

"Gil, you have to relax." Josh smiled at his friend in a matching outfit.

"Just nervous." Gilbert told him.

"I figured as much with the pacing." Josh joked. "But mate seriously," he said stilling Gilbert putting his hands on his friend shoulders, "save some energy for the wedding night." He said with a joking smile and a wink of the eye which made Gilbert chuckle "the guests haven't started arriving yet." He reminded Gilbert. "If it gets to 1pm and she hasn't come I promise you, you can start panicking then."

This outright made Gilbert laugh "I suppose that's why you're best man."

"Ah see!" Josh nodded towards the entrance to the garden "here is Marilla." He alerted Gilbert "She will be able to inform you of your impending doom, or maybe Anne will see sense and change her mind." He muttered in Gilbert's ear with a sly grin which made Gilbert do a double take at his friend before they both burst into laughter.

Marilla looked seriously at the two before Gilbert managed to straighten his face.

"I'm glad to find you in such high spirits." Marilla smiled.

"Josh was just calming my nerves." Gilbert admitted before Marilla held up his button hole, Gilbert smiled at the pink rose as Marilla handed the one for him and Josh.

"I have to ask," Josh asked. "Pink?" he asked.

"Its the best colour rose." Gilbert smiled attaching the rose to this buttonhole.

"Gilbert!" His mother waved as they walked in the orchard.

"Arrival of your parents." Josh smiled, "And so it begins."

* * *

 _"Don't let Small Anne Cordelia spoil her clothes_ ," warned Diana anxiously to Fred and Dora from the hallway before she came into Anne's bedroom again.

 _"You needn't be afraid to trust her with Dora," said Marilla. "That child is more sensible and careful than most of the mothers I've known. She's really a wonder in some ways. Not much like that other harum-scarum I brought up."_ Marilla smiled across at Anne as Anne smiled back through the mirror, _It might even be suspected that she liked the harum-scarum best after all._

"Look at today Anne! _You certainly have a lovely day for your wedding, Anne,"_ said Diana, "You couldn't have had a finer one."

Anne smiled at her friend "It was always going to be a beautiful day!" Anne smiled contently "Its an echo of eternity. _This is my day of days, you know. I'm so happy I want every one else to be happy, too._ "

"How could they not be?" Diana smiled at her again through the mirror "You're marrying Gilbert!" she whispered.

"I think people know." Anne whispered back.

"Are you ready Anne?" Asked Marilla, Anne nodded in return. "I'll go and let the minister know." She said walking out the room.

There was silence between the two for a moment before Diana asked her "I don't know everything about you do I?" she asked Anne. Anne looked at her confused for a moment before Diana continued "You don't talk about what happened before you came here, at least not to me and I wonder if it might help solve the enigma which is Anne Shirley."

"Di, you know all you need to about me, truly." Anne told her.

"And Gilbert knows more." She stated softly. "Of course its how it should be, but has he helped you get over your past?" she asked Anne.

Anne sighed and thought for a moment. "Before Avonlea, before here, everything that happened felt like another persons life." She told Diana. "There are things which Gilbert has helped with a great deal, I think my relationship with anyone else, indeed why I think it wouldn't have worked with Roy, Is because I've needed extra assurances which normally isn't relevant, and trust in another person, full trust was hard to give. I was, when I came here completely independent of the human condition of 'love'. I was more independent in a lot of ways which would hinder a life with anyone else." She sighed "Oh but Diana don't you see, its not just Gilbert who had a huge effect on me. Don't you remember how I reacted to you and Fred getting engaged?" she asked Diana "It was a huge deal, but you both showed me, you and Fred, what happiness looked like, yes for you, but it was a glimpse, and I think, as much as Marilla says Avonlea needed me, I needed Avonlea." She smiled.

"I remember the day I told you I was marrying Fred." Diana chuckled. "And look at you now."

With this Marilla came back in the room and Diana excused herself.

"Bride of Green Gables." Marilla said proudly, as Anne looked in the mirror. "Is something wrong?" Marilla asked.

"Something is missing." She said softly. Gilbert's pearl bracelet round her arm and her parents rings off her neck. She let out a soft sigh and reached into her bedside table and pulled out an old blue ribbon.

Marilla smiled at the memory, the younger sixteen year old girl walking through the door.

 _"_ _Will you call me Cordelia?" Anne had asked her that first day._

 _"_ _Call you Cordelia?" Marilla questioned her. "Is that your name?" she asked._

 _"_ _Well no its not exactly my name but wouldn't it be lovely to be called Cordelia." Anne had answered her._ "As soon as I'm able to I want to change my name to Cordelia so it makes sense for people here to call me Cordelia." She had continued "But don't worry, I'll save the money myself, I'm a hard worker I'll get a part time job." She had chattered, smoothing her hair the blue ribbon loosing but not coming out as she talked.

"Your name now?" Marilla had asked.

 _"_ _Anne Shirley. Plain, old unromantic Anne Shirley."_

 _"_ _Anne Shirley is a fine sensible name and hardly one to be ashamed of."_

 _"_ _Oh I'm not ashamed of it, but if you will call me Anne can you be sure to spell it with an 'e'."_

Marilla smiled as the old faded blue ribbon which was in her hair that day tied around her waist. "That isn't in the colour scheme." Marilla smiled.

"No," Anne agreed, "but a little quirk, is what makes things perfect sometimes."

Marilla smiled walking her down and through the kitchen into the garden.

"You kept a seat for him." Marilla smiled "you kept a seat for them all." Seeing the first row, with the exception of her own seat being empty but notes on each

 _Reserved for Joyce Blythe_

 _Reserved for Matthew Cuthbert_

 _Reserved for Walter Shirley_

 _Reserved for Bertha Shirley_

"You don't mind sitting on your own do you?" Anne asked her.

Marilla smiled as they got to the fence just before they were in sight from the garden. "I'll be in the finest company." She told Anne before they linked arms.

 _Gilbert, waiting for her, looked up at her with adoring eyes_ and a small gasp left his chest. _She was his at last, this evasive, long-sought Anne, It was to him she was coming in the sweet surrender of the bride._

Then, before she reached the top of the aisle a fear came over him.

 _Was he worthy of her? Could he make her as happy as he hoped? If he failed her—if he could not measure up to her standard of manhood—_

"You struck gold." He heard from Josh.

Gilbert couldn't take his eyes off her. There he heard the song from long ago, "I knew I loved you..." started. Gilbert looked up in amazement as Anne smiled at him as she walked towards him, knowing the song and all its meaning.

Her bridal wear was a sheer chiffon fabric, with a strappy knee length slip underneath. A loose boat neck top with a bell sleeve tucked in at the waist. The top was an embroidered scene of flowers and vines , the skirt was a floor length maxi skirt, reminded Gilbert of a stream, flowing to the ground. Her veil silk organza tucked into her hair and hairstyle came out trailed down her back and came round the back of her mid thigh. As she walked her strappy shoes adored in little pearls with an open front and a supported back, the heel barely there adding just an inch to Anne's already tall slender figure.

Her hair was half up and half down her curls like beach waves, twirled back on each side of the veil in her hair she'd slid some fresh lily of the valleys haloing her head. Loose curls played around her face framing it. In her hand she carried the pink roses which matched Gilbert's own button hole.

As they reached the front then, she held out her hand to him, _their eyes met and all doubt was swept away in a glad certainty. They belonged to each other; and, no matter what life might hold for them, it could never alter that. Their happiness was in each other's keeping and both were unafraid._

"Wow!" he whispered to his bride.

"Do you like?" she whispered to him.

"Very much." He told her quickly. "You look like a woodland queen." He told her.

She smiled "I feel like a queen today." Gilbert she told him.

"You are." He whispered back. "My Queen Anne."

Minister Jo married them. Above the sound of the minister a bird _sang sweetly from some hidden bough while Gilbert and Anne repeated their deathless vows. Anne heard it and thrilled to it; Gilbert heard it, and wondered only that all the birds in the world had not burst into jubilant song;_ After the words were exchange Anne and Gilbert took a seat, they looked around their intimate party of friends around them.

Gilbert's parents sat on the front row with Josh on one side of them and a disgruntled looking Aunt Mary Maria on the other, not that her sour expression wavered the young couples happiness, no indeed her consistency amused them both.

On the other side sat Marilla and the four empty chairs, (which to Aunt Mary Maria was rather peculiar, as with everything else Anne and Gilbert had decided upon in their lives, wasn't it unlucky for there to be empty seats, a 'fact' Gilbert was sure she had made up).

Behind Gilbert's parents were Phil and with her (and Jo's) first born son, the boy had a colouring crayon and it was unclear on whether or not he was chewing the crayon or using it to draw. And sitting next to them was Stephen, Lavender & Paul Irving.

Behind Marilla were Diana and Fred, along with Anne Cordelia and Fred Jr. And Miss Stacy.

Josie and Charlie, Moody with Mrs Lynde, Davy and Thea were on the next row back their Kingsport friends, Leslie and Owen, Cornelia and Marshall, Captain Jim, Katherine and Jenny.

Many in Avonlea would later say they were surprised by the small number of attendee's at the wedding, but to those who knew Gilbert and Anne, they knew that A small party, full of love, was all that was needed for them.

* * *

The turn around was fast after the ceremony, the chairs being reorganised in the orchard by Diana into the wedding meal. The photographer taking pictures of the happy couple had plenty of time to get in shot, both the formal ones and some informal while the guest talked among themselves and the tables and chair were ready in the Orchard.

Josh was the first one up to the microphone when it was all set up and the photographer was finished, when he proclaimed "Ladies and Gentlemen, Girls and boys can I take the great pleasure of welcoming for the first time Doctor and Mrs Blythe!" The small group cheered as Anne and Gilbert came back in, hand in hand and looking as loved up as ever. "Now I believe this is a wedding and there will be dancing and there will be food and booze but first, the bride has something she wishes to say, and anyone who knows the bride knows not to deny her it." Which received some chuckles in the group "Ladies and Gentlemen Mrs Anne Blythe." Again the group clapped, as much to Gilbert perplexity Anne went up to the small stage.

"Thank you everyone." Anne smiled and she stood at the mic "and thank you Joshua for that tribute." She said with a playful glare at the best man. "I'm not making a speech, don't worry, but there was something I wanted to do, first before anything else." She admitted before Diana slipped a book in Anne's hands which intrigued Gilbert more. "So lots of you know I'm a writer," she admitted "and my first book was published quite some time ago." She smiled and looked at Gilbert "well I've been busy, and not even my now husband knew this but with good reason. My second book has been published..." she said as Gilbert's mouth fell in amazement "it was actually ready a couple of months ago but working at the publishers who published it I could actually pull strings." She smiled wider before she looked directly at Gilbert "So I could give you this, as a wedding gift." She told him as the book outstretched before him, be smiled confused but still took the book and looked down at it in amazement.

There the title made him chuckle 'Averil's Atonement' before the authoress's name gleamed before him.

"Anne Blythe." He said amazed.

She smiled coming closer to him as people watched. "I wanted you, to be the first with it." She admitted.

"Averil's Atonement?" he asked her.

To which she laughed "It's not what it was." She admitted. "I'm just glad those thieves made me change the name of the title before they would take on my work." She continued.

Gilbert opened it to the dedication.

 _"_ _For it has been said dearest Husband,_ ** _Joy_** _cometh_ _in the morning. Psalms 30:5"_ Gilbert read, then traced the page with the dedication and his smile lighting up. "Anne that's perfect." He said to her gathering her in his arms and kissing her passionately despite the spectators to the kiss.

Josh had taken the stage again and said "and with that lets get this dancing started. Can the bride and groom take their places?" he asked them, which only stopped them from the kiss. Gilbert led her to the dancefloor where the small band started to play the familiar song, Gilbert put down the book not realising at first the song was being played for a second time that day.

Gilbert smiled at his wife as they, came together and swayed to the music. She looked up at him ever the blushing bride. "Did I tell you, you look beautiful?" he asked her.

She grinned more a pinkness at her cheek. "Thank you." She said to him.

"No, thank you!" he said with a glint in his eye. "I love it, all of this." He told her.

"Me too." She agreed.

"You walked down the aisle to me, this first dance, to your parent..." he started.

"Its our song." Anne ended for him.

"Anne..." He whispered.

"Gilbert!" she emphasised, "please believe me it belongs to us now, you were the first one I told about it, you were there to heal that and a lot of other wounds." She smiled at him. "It is my mother's song, but you know its ours too, it links them back to you, I have memory of you and my mother when I hear it, what could be more perfect?" she asked him.

"You." He smiled still holding her in his arms. "And can I just say, _that_ dress Anne!" he said looking down at it.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Oh yeah!" he agreed which made her chuckle. "I mean wowzer!" he exclaimed. "If there was ever a reason to get excited about our wedding night, its seeing what is under this dress!" he flirted.

Anne faked her shock "Doctor Blythe!" she reprimanded him. "You like it?" she asked him before she blushed in a nod which made him smile wider. "Then you're going to love what I have planned for tonight."

"Oh?" he whispered with a blush of his own. "I think I shall enjoy having you as a wife!"

* * *

The dancing came to a close where they sat round the table. Shaped in a rectangle it was quite easy to fit the snug group around it, with a small wedding party a huge table wasn't needed. When planning the table neither Anne nor Gilbert wanted there to be a 'head' table. Gilbert had suggested a round table, like in the legend of King Arthur before Marilla had pointed out how impractical it would be, not to mention next to impossible to find a round table that large. Mrs Blythe had chuckled at his disappointment but soon both bride to be and mother to the groom had heartily laughed with Gilbert when tongue in cheek he suggested all the old football players dress in suits of armour and give them a sword arch. Marilla had rolled her eyes bringing the attention back to the tables where the final suggestion of rectangle tables came from.

Josh stood tapping his glass with his spoon and grinned at the pair. "Any other best man would have a list of ill deeds to embarrass the groom with in front of his childhood friends, his family who actually believe his behaviour to be perfect at all times." As people chuckled and Gilbert's mother looked worried Josh took a heavy sigh "Alas, Mrs Blythe," he said addressing Gilbert's mother "it seems as though this time its actually true." He said which made his mother relax with a smiled to her son. "So then, I would turn to the bride's behaviour, and hope she would have a sense of humour about it." Again he sighed and laughed "but again, I am disappointed, for it seems any mishaps performed by the bride is already well documented here in Avonlea, so instead, its forced my hand to be serious." He glanced at the pair who were both grinning wickedly "Thanks a lot." He cleared his throat "So I'll take you back to our first year in college, I meet Gilbert in class and a bunch of us arrange to go out. He comes along, and I'm surprised he sticks mostly to soft drinks but he seems like a genuinely nice guy and I strike up this conversation with him. We're getting along just fine when a group of girls come in the bar, one of which was this girl with vividly red hair who Gil couldn't, or wouldn't stop staring at." He looks over to the pair where Anne is blushing and Gilbert is whispering something in her ear. "I find out that it was his..." and he used air quotes "'best friend' and her name was Anne, and he actually refused to go over to speak with her, despite the fact that I now realise that both their eyes kept finding the others more often then was natural." Josh grinned, "Consistently I find them, in their spare time, together, and I know there's something romantic going on despite both parties claiming they were 'just friends'." Josh took a deep breath "we all know what happened next." He said with a raised eyebrow before he continued "and honestly, I was disappointed when it looked like they wouldn't get together, Gil became more and more withdrawn with a hint of danger to him and Anne became more emotionally distant. "Then first day back at medical school. Gilbert is beaming, you literally couldn't surgically remove the smile from his face and he tells me the impossible happened, he is finally with Anne. A smile, which he is also sporting today." Josh said. "I'm not good with sentiment." He admitted "but truly if I could be with the women who made me half as happy as Anne makes Gilbert, I would be a happy man indeed." He said, the only people to notice the hint of regret in his voice were Anne and Gilbert who glanced at each other only for a moment before he continued confidently "So ladies and Gentlemen, a toast, to the bride and groom, may you..." then with a grin says "...live long and prosper."

With cheers around Gilbert then stood and cleared his throat. "I, um, I've not always had an easy time conveying my emotions." He said honestly, "Its hard for me to say how I feel or what I'm thinking." He told everyone "expect to Anne." He said honestly. He grinned for a moment "Miss Stacy had Anne and I in detention for months, and it was during the first few months where Anne hated me, most people complained about her not shutting up, where I just wanted her to talk." He chuckled "so I did, and I wouldn't shut up." He laughed "and she did something which I never thought anyone really did before, although I'm sure now they did, but she listened." He shrugged "to me, harping on, not passing judgement or pointing the finger about being different or odd or expressing an opinion which was 'wrong'." He continued "and for some reason life kept pushing us together to talk, we'd be assigned projects together even when we weren't meant to be friends," he shrugged again "we were." He acknowledged. "Somewhere between, being a loathed enemy and friend, I fell in love." He nodded and looked directly at Anne and took her hand in his "Not even when the bad times befell us love, not for a single moment did I regret it." He told her "you have made me better, a better person a better man, just better, you made me want to be my best, and I swear to you I will continue to try to be the man you deserve. You my love changed the very nature of what it was to be me, and I thank you for it, I am better now then I ever could hope to have been without you," He told her. She smiled blushing at his comments "So, a toast ladies and gentlemen to my wife..." he said with blushing ears he smiled so wide he felt as though his face was frozen in the smile forever "Anne _Blythe,_ I may never get used to saying that." He chuckled "to my bride."

After the cheers to the bride Anne stood "Tradition isn't always equal is it?" she said with a chuckle from everyone "so be done with tradition I have something to say." She paused to hear Josh whisper to Gilbert 'that's usually the case' which made her smile. "Gilbert talks about the effect I've had on him, he must know that his presence in my life has had an equal if not greater profound influence in my life." She took a deep breath and took his hand in hers "Before Green Gables I had no hope of having a real life, my time before Green Gables was difficult and I thought no one could ever understand all the _things_..." she said squeezing his hand "...which happened. Not many know all of it, but the man beside me does." She said looking at him again "He never made me feel broken, he never made me feel less, he always encouraged me and _loved_ me in ways I never believed I was worthy." She admitted. "You are the best thing to have happened in my life." She told him "and I am better because of you." She told him. "I love you." She said.

He blushed for a moment before he stood. "Can I kiss you now?" he asked her.

She chuckled and nodded before they kissed again.

* * *

It was a happy bride and groom who entered their little home that evening. It was late already when they arrived having danced away the afternoon into the evening, they were ever so thankful their little house was only 45 minutes away from Avonlea.

Anne was the first to approach the front door her key in the door she opened it, she was about to enter when Gilbert objected, she turned a little confused before he swept her up in his arms and carried her across the threshold. He placed her down gently before he closed the door behind them, he looked to Anne kissing her hungrily.

"I am so horny!" he murmured to her.

"Oh yeah?" she asked him.

"Oh my God!" he replied kissing down her neck "I have missed you so much!"

She pulled back to give him eye contact "I've missed you." She agreed.

"Yeah?" he asked kissing her on the lips again. "and your wedding dress..." he murmured getting close to her ear "...my god Anne I knew then I was marrying an angel." He said before he kissed her again. "Those 45 minutes in the car felt like an eternity."

They stumbled into the living room where he reached for her again before she stepped back playfully.

"I have a surprise for you." She whispered to him running through the house before she told him "wait here." He looked confounded after her for a moment before he chuckled taking a deep breath for relief. He sat for a few moments, just in the quiet waiting for 'his wife' to be ready. She came back through but he heard her voice before he saw her again. "You know what there are few matters in which I envy the Victorian women." She told him then appeared at the door where his jaw dropped "But this is definitely one of their finer moments, even if it is more difficult to breath."

His wife posed against the door which only gave the desired effect for Gilbert. She wore a long floral lace see through nightgown, and underneath it lay bare naked legs which travelled up to a tiny pair of lace knickers and a very tight fitting corset. Her perfectly formed breast were for certain more visible then normal, her long wavy red hair still lay in the curls from the day but were now worn loosely around the blades of her back. "what do you think?" she asked him.

Try as he might he was left dumb speechless, he just continued to stare at his wife his mouth ajar, he heard Anne giggle swearing he had in fact answered her but she would later tell him he didn't. She came to him and stood in front of him. She laced herself around him before she reached for his lips and kissed him romantically. She giggled more as she pulled away and looked him in the eyes. "Come to bed with me husband."

It wasn't until after their two month wait was over that a word, not sensible ones, but words all the same left Gilbert's mouth.

"So what did you think?" she asked him in the aftermath of lovemaking his lay next to her caressing her exposed tips with his tongue.

He looked up flushed in face his lips still moist. "You know what I think of you in corsets Anne Shirley..." he started.

"Na ah ah!" she reprimanded him. "Anne who now?" she asked him.

He chuckled "quite right Anne Blythe." He boasted.

"How should I know what you think of me in corsets?" she asked him.

"Um..." he started shuffling himself to a sitting position. "Freshman year?" he asked him while her face was blank "the Victorian dance! He exclaimed "you wore that smoking hot corset..." he teased her "by far the sexiest women in that room." He said with a smile. "and when you were getting ready do you remember?" he asked her to which she shook her head "you were so excited about looking curvy in your corset and you were fluttering around and you told me..." he blushed at the memory "You told me to look."

Anne smiled at the memory "I did! Didn't I?!" she exclaimed. "Oh my god, we were flirting!"

Gilbert laughed "Just a bit yeah." He acknowledged, laying back down beside her cupping one of her breasts in his hand. "I was all too happy to." He said laughing as she did. "You thought you weren't all women because you were small when it came to your breasts." He said quietly "I hope I've convinced you otherwise." He whispered romantically to her.

"You've convinced me in many things." She whispered to him. "Like maybe, I'm good enough to deserve this."

His hand stroked down her torso heading downwards and looked up into her eyes before he kissed her again.


	81. Lets go back in time

Yes, I've uploaded the right one, wait with it, you'll see what its about as you read it.

* * *

"What were you thinking?!" The principle tried again with the young man in front of him. "Cutting up and guttering a rabbit then smearing it and hanging it across school property!"

The young man flicked his light brown hair from his blue eyes his lips pouted. "I dunno." He shrugged. "I was bored."

"Bored?!" The Principle said walking round his desk exasperated. "How can I get through to you?" he asked the boy no older the sixteen in front of him. "Hm? This isn't the first thing."

"I know." He said looking down into his lap.

"Lets see," the principle said opening the file in front of him "intimidation..."

"Matt Stevens spun that, that wasn't intimidation, it was banter..."

"A fight with a senior." He continued.

"It was self defence." The boy muttered.

"Lack of attention in class..." the teacher continued.

"If that was a crime half the school would be up for sentence." He muttered.

Whereupon the Principle looked sharply at him "All of these things add up and don't usually happen in the first few weeks of the first semester of a freshmen's high school career." The Principle sighed "And I worry because your brother..."

"I'm nothing like him!" the boy objected standing quickly in temper.

"You are everything like him from what I've seen so far, is that your aim in life? To be like your brother?" the principle probed for the first time seeing a reaction other then a mutter from the lad.

The boys hand hit the desk there. "I'm nothing like him! I'm nothing like any of them! You see me you see my name and you think you know me because of my surname!"

"I think I know you from your actions!" The principle told him which made the lad look confused at him "you can't keep doing the same things over and over again expecting a different result, the same actions will lead to the same reactions." The principle paused seeing the boys demure change "Do you want the same consequences as the rest of your family?" The boy made no reply but his cheeks blushed a little. "I don't know if I should exclude you from school or not." The principle admitted shaking his head "So here's what I'll do." He nodded. "Come tomorrow first thing and we can discuss it further, you sleep on it and decide your fate, you can change it you know, it only takes one determined soul to break the destructive cycle they've been brought up in." Again the boy didn't say anything but turned to leave. "Do you know what you want to be when you leave school? What career path would you pursue?"

The boy said nothing but without turning round shrugged. "You cut and gutted that rabbit perfectly, I know my family were hunters." He admitted. "Knife work like that you could be honourably one of two things." The boy looked back at the principle who told him "a surgeon, or a butcher." The principle bottom lip protruded "give that some thought too." When the boy stood still and didn't move but stared at him unbelievingly he said "Its alright Josh, you can go."

* * *

Josh entered silently into the house. He sighed looking around at the empty room. He walked across the small living room to the kitchen opening the fridge and sighed at the sight of the half empty milk a block of butter and the half mouldy cheese. He reached inside his bag grateful for the reduced price loaf of bread he had the money for on the way home. He could make ten dollars go a long way for the week when he was careful and kept his food to himself. He put two slices of bread in the toaster and put the butter on top. He pulled out a tin of shop branded cheap baked beans and heated the whole thing. He took his food and sat in front of the television switching it on. He flicked the channels looking for something to watch, he would probably watch some trash and he knew it, but he stopped suddenly, a new programme called _Keeping Canada Alive_. His brow furrowed at the memory of his principle saying he could be something, even a surgeon. Something strange had happened when he said it, he felt a tiny bit of hope, he _never_ been told he was good at anything before.

 _In and out of trouble since he was six, he didn't care at the time, he was following in his big brothers steps, he had adored Micheal and wanted to impress him, but slowly as time went on the comparison became so negative as his older brother dropped out of high school and into drugs and debt. Things had come to ahead with the two brothers the year before hand when he found Micheal was leaving._

 _"You can't go and leave me here!" Josh had shouted at him. "I'll tell mom and dad!" he threatened._

 _"You can't threaten me with people who don't care!" Micheal had told him. "Mom gambling away everything and Dad drinking it away, we're just given cash at the beginning of the week and told to get lost so I'm just making it more permeant." He sighed "Don't you get it? You'll get the twenty dollars all to yourself..."_

 _"I don't want the twenty dollars to myself!" Josh objected. "I want my brother!"_

 _"Well I don't want you!" he snapped back. Micheal paused looking at his brother Josh shaking his head._

 _Still with Josh denying it, Micheal left._

 _Six weeks later he had seen Micheal down near the docks, shooting himself to high heaven. They had argued, the last words Josh spoke to his brother was "you aren't my brother I hate you!"_

 _His parents never asked or cared when Josh said he knew where Micheal was when he was away from them. Josh knew they wouldn't care if he disappeared either._

 _Ten weeks ago the police had came to the door and said the homeless elder brother was dead._

 _Nine weeks ago Josh was the only one in presence at his funeral._

 _Eight weeks ago he had started high school._

 _He was a lone man. He knew that the school district had already visited his house when his parents failed to turn up at a parent teacher meeting. That night they had beaten him, several across his chest area, one clearly visible on his eyes, of course the principle had seen him the next day in school. Josh had sat silently as he'd put everything together, but had no proof._

 _He had no support at home, his parents abused him, they had no formal education between them and mocked their sons into submission, they had been careful with their older son, never to let any abuse show physically, they hadn't been so careful the night before._

Josh looked at his food and the fork hit the plate as he sighed heavily. He watched the programme looking as a surgeon worked on a patient. He looked at his watch then at the TV Programme again.

Something had to change.

Make that someone.

And it had to be him.

* * *

"I can do it." Josh told the man following him as he worked "I'm stronger then I look and... and I'm sure I would work hard, and I've been told I'm a natural with the knife and..."

"Prove it." The man said pointing to the heavy net of fish.

Josh looked at the fish and then to the man " 12 pounds an hour."

The man chuckled before he replied "nine and you come early to every shift to dock the boats."

"Eleven, and you dock it yourself." Josh said.

"Ten, and you show me how well you can gut this fish." He suggested.

Josh swallowed looking at the fish "10.50, you show me how and every day I work here I come back after school and you give me one of the fish that you haven't sold that day one which would go to waste otherwise for free."

The man laughed and nodded, "Only if you do it first time." Not believing Josh would. He took him through step by step then watched in amazement as the boy completed the task. "Beginners luck?" he questioned, to which Josh shrugged. "and again."

An hour later the man came back to Josh's side and nodded at his work. "Not bad, not bad at all." He said putting the 10.50 beside the boy. "What's your name?"

"Josh." He replied.

"Four thirty to seven thirty AM Monday Wednesday Friday Saturday and Sunday. You can make it?"

"Yeah its before school." Josh nodded.

"Three hours before school?" he asked.

"Yeah." Josh agreed. He looked over at the grain being brought in to the market. "What's that?" he asked pointing towards it.

"The pulses and grains from the farms." The fishmonger replied.

"To eat?" Josh asked.

Which made the fishmonger laugh "Aye, to eat kid, do you not know how to take care of yourself?" he asked. With no reply from the boy the fishmonger looked seriously at Josh. "Do you not have no parents?" he asked.

Josh gasped then steadied himself "I dunno." He shrugged.

"Pulses, grains, everything over there, a portion counts as one of your fruit and veg a day, generally don't taste too bad if you cook em right. Keep yer self healthy, smart and strong."

"Smart?" Josh asked.

He looked to the boy again "You need to do your research."

* * *

Josh took a deep breath as he opened the door into the library. He entered the room not sure of what to expect but was shocked with the rows of books ahead of him.

'Crap!' he thought 'how am I meant to find anything in here?'

"Can I help you?" The librarian asked him.

"Yeah," he said approaching the desk, "where can I find stuff out about nutrition and fitness and stuff?" he asked.

"Applied science 600-699..." she started.

"Shit! There's 600 books on it?!" he exclaimed.

"Mind your language!" the librarian snapped which startled Josh a little but then she clarified "we divided the library into sections, each section has a number attached to it, 600-699 is the number classification for applied science."

"Oh." Josh sighed. "So how many books are there on it?"

The librarian came out from behind her desk and walked him to the section "These two shelves are all applied science."

To which Josh sighed again, "Is there any, applied science for dummies?" he asked her half jokingly.

The librarians lips upturned into a smile "if you wanted a general idea we do have computers." She told him. "You could look it up on the internet come back to me with a more specific topic and we could pick a book or two on it."

"The computer..." Josh nodded. "Right..." he thought outloud. "Can I come back every day and read the books?" he asked.

"You could, or you could borrow them..." she started.

"Oh no, I don't have any money until..." he started in return.

"Borrowing them is free." She told him, to which he looked to her amazed. "I'd give you a library card and as long as you got the books back to us before they are due back, I would tell you that date, but as long as you get them back on time, you'd pay nothing."

Josh let out a big sigh. "Thanks." He said.

"We're open till seven."

* * *

"Hey." Josh said as he entered the front door to his dad watching the TV.

"You in trouble?" he grunted.

Josh shook his head "no."

"Where were you then?" His dad asked.

"Out." Josh said not wanting to admit he had both got himself a job and gone to the library, he got a glass out the cabinet and got himself a glass of water.

"You eaten today?" His father asked as he joined Josh in the kitchen.

"Have you?" Josh asked to which he received a slap across the back of his head the smell of stale liquor passing him.  
"Have some respect." he muttered.

"Yes dad." He managed. "Going to bed." He muttered before he picked back up his bag from the table and went to his bedroom with his glass of water.

He shut his bedroom door behind him sat on his bed cross-legged and brought one of the library books out.

He looked at the cover and traced the words with his fingers "The Human Body Atlas: How the human body works by the National Geographic. Josh opened the book and started to read.

* * *

"Sit down." The principle said to him as he came in the room, to which Josh obeyed. "So, what to do?" he questioned. "I've reached out to your parents, I had no response."

"Don't expect any." Josh muttered.

"No,I figured as much." The Principle said in return. "Will they notice if you don't come to school?" he asked Josh.

"I dunno." He said. "But don't."

The Principle looked up with furrowed brow. "But don't?" he asked.

"Exclude me, expel me, just..." he paused not wanting to show he cared all of a sudden. "...I... um, I think I can do better."

"Oh?" The Principle asked. "You've already had chances to prove it."  
"Then give me one more." Josh said.

The Principle paused not saying anything but looking to him for a response.

"Look here." He said pulling out the library books from his bag "I went to the library last night, did you know you can borrow books from there for free?" he asked.

"You don't say." He said tongue in cheek.

"An...aaannd what you said last night about being a doctor or a surgeon or a butcher, I dunno you said it, you said I could and I went down to the docks last night..."

"You were busy last night."

"...and I have a job, guttering fish but its a job." He spouted, the principle watching him as the boy came alive for the first time he had met him eight weeks ago "I did my first shift this morning I made like thirty dollars! Do you know what that means? Three weeks worth of food!" he exclaimed. "I made more in one hour then my parents give me for all week!" he said. "I'm earning and its mine and I have some control in all this, you were right, I can change my destiny, I don't have to end up like the rest of them do I?" he asked his principle.

The Principle looked at him seriously "are you telling me your parents give you ten dollars at the beginning of the week for you to get food for yourself?" he asked.

"That's what you're taking away from all this?!" Josh asked exasperated.

The Principle chuckled. "No of course not." He said shaking his head. "You got a job?" he asked Josh.

"He didn't say but I could tell they thought I was alright, they said all I had to do was show up in the mornings, and I can do that." He said. "I still have time to shower, and get to school on time like I did today. I actually bought some fancy shower gel and deodorant the branded stuff and I got an agreement with my work that if I go there after school he'll give me some fish that would have gone to waste anyway and I can buy grains and stuff there, did you know how good it is for you?" he asked "it says in this book..." he started.

"Slow down Josh!" The Principle smiled. "You have time to learn all this." He nodded. Josh smiled and sat back.

"I think I want to, I don't know, learn about all this." He said. "Health and diet and how to take care of myself and I dunno, maybe slice something more then a fish one day." He said looking to his principle.

"You mean be a surgeon?" he asked Josh.

To which Josh nodded, "But I need to be here to get there." He said quietly.

"Top grades too." His Principle said, looking to the lad who bit his bottom lip. "You care?" he asked.

"I want to." Josh shrugged. "I... I want to care and I want to do it."

"Well then." The Principle said nodding his head looking at Josh seriously. "One more chance."

He pulled out a piece of paper which was his school timetable for the semester "Can I fix this too?"

* * *

Josh was the last one into the chemistry classroom, be looked around for a spare seat and the only one to be found was next to a girl. His shoulder flumped slightly but he took a deep breath and walked over to the girl.

"Is anyone sitting here?" he asked her.

The girl looked up at him through her glasses her brown hair tied up in bun. "No." She told him then returned to reading her book.

His brow furrowed for a minute, that still wasn't permission to sit next to her. "Can I?" he asked her.

She looked up again glared at him and sighed "suppose." She shrugged.

He sat in the chair this bag going on the table in front of him.

"I'm Josh Green." He told the girl.

She half smiled and nodded "I'm Zara Roberts." She told him.

He smiled "That's a pretty name. I haven't met a Zara before." He said.

She looked at him then looked around the classroom. "Your joining the class late." She observed.

"Yeah, well its before then end of drop period and I'm trying to, do, I dunno something," he told her "I just, I figured at worse I've wasted a semester." He told her.

Zara nodded "then some advice for you." She started.

"Sure." He said enthusiastically with a smile to her.

"Don't seem like you like me." She told him.

He looked at her confused "I... I'm sorry?"

"Look I'm not popular, people don't like me much and if they see you liking me, they won't like you either."

He half chuckled "You seem confident about that?" he questioned.

"I am, I went to junior high with half of these idiots from the main feeder school, you didn't go to Jefferson did you?"

"No, Montgomery."

"So you had to be 'in' with the 'in' crowd to start of well here."

"What makes you think you're not 'in'?" he asked.

"Because I don't laugh at messing around, I don't like dirty jokes, not because I'm religious or anything but because I find it distasteful, I don't go to their parties and I don't drink."

They sat quietly for a moment as the teacher walked in the room. "I don't let anyone tell me who I do and don't like." He whispered to her, to which she looked to him surprised.

"Joshua Green?" The teacher asked.

"Here sir." He said standing for a moment.

The teacher looked confused at him and then the sheet of paper. "You want to do advanced biology?" he asked Josh.

"Yes sir." He nodded.

"By choice?" he questioned.

"Yes sir." He agreed.

"Very well, you okay sitting there?" the teacher asked him.

"If Zara is okay with it." He stated, the teacher looked up and looked to a stunned Zara who nodded.

"Very well you may sit."

He sat down and looked at her and they smiled at each other.

* * *

The lesson completed itself and she looked at him "What do you have next?" she asked him.

"Nutrition." He said shaking his head. "You too?" asked he,to which she nodded "another new elective." He told her.

"Did you change your whole timetable?" she asked him.

"Pretty much." He nodded looking at the new timetable.

She looked at the sheet in his hand. "You're taking sign language?" she asked him.

"Hey!" he objected.

"No, no, so am I." She told him.

"Oh." He nodded. "You sit alone in them too?" he asked her to which she nodded. "cool." He smiled.

* * *

He was walking up from the harbour with the fish in his bag and some pulses which he had strict instructions on how to cook. He looked happened to look towards the shores edge where he saw the outline of his new friend. He walked over to her and smiled as he approached, she had her books open in front of her reading. "Odd place to study?" he questioned her.

She looked up and smiled, "Not really." She shrugged, "its quiet this time of year the breeze keeps people away from the shore, its not strong enough to bother me so I'll read here, I like the fresh air the sound of the waves while I read on my kindle, I'll go home to write, as long as its not bound I'm okay to read it here."

He sat beside her looking at her quizzically. "So, you do this study stuff because you like it?" he asked her.

She laughed before she looked up seeing his serious face "Sorry I thought you were kidding." Zara told him. "Yes, I like it, I like to learn."

"Why?" he asked.

"Because its nice finding out things I didn't know before." She replied, to which he looked at the top of the kindle for the name of the book she was reading.

"Of mice and men." He said. Opening his own bag and bringing it out. "I got the last copy out the school library." He told her.

She smiled "My parents downloaded it when they saw it was on the curriculum." She admitted "so I could put notes in, make it mine you know and always have those notes." She smiled.

"Wow." He said nodding. "Its smart." He nodded, "The kindle." He admitted. "And having your own copy." He thought outloud.

"Won't your parents buy you the book?" she asked him.

"No." He said shaking his head. "probably not." He admitted. "But that's what the library is for right?" he asked her, "I can use this until I can buy it, I can I have a job now." He told her.

She smiled at him and nodded. "Do you..." she started then shook her head.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing, I mean we just met, but would you like to come and study at my house?" she asked him. "Its getting later so..."

He swallowed and looked surprised.

"sorry." She apologised.

"No, don't be." He shook his head. "Just..." he trailed then looked up at her "I've never gone to a friends house before." He said quietly.

She smiled. "Well you have now." She said as a matter of fact.

They started walking up the harbour. "So, your parents got you to get fish?" she asked him.

"Um, kinda." He shrugged. "Can we pop by my house and put this in the fridge?" he asked her.

"Sure." She smiled. "So I heard you've made quite the first impression in high school?" she asked him.

"Oh, um..." he said nervously. "Well, I said I was trying something new." He said to her looking to the ground.

"Well I admire the attempt." She told him.

"Really?" he asked her.

"Its hard to be good all the time in high school, you get called teachers pet and everything but I think it must be harder to turn over a new leaf."

They came to the shops along the harbour and he looked curiously at a barbers shop. "Hey I can get my hair cut here?" he asked no one in particular.

Zara looked to him surprised. "Oh, um, yes I suppose."

He looked at the price list and nodded. "Interesting." He said. "Sorry lets keep going." He said to her.

* * *

They chattered between themselves before they arrived at Zara's house. "Holy crap!" he exclaimed looking at her house "You're rich!" he exclaimed.

She chuckled "No not very but..." she blushed having seen the run down house Josh had lived it, she had been surprised when she saw the fridge was empty other then some butter, bread and the food Josh put it. "come on." She smiled to him.

They went in the front door where she put down her bag.

"Whose home?" came a voice from the kitchen.

"Its me." She called.

"Ah Zara!" the women's voice called. "come on through!" it said.

"I've brought my friend too, we're going to use the kitchen table and study if that's okay?" Zara asked taking off her coat indicating to Josh to do the same thing.

"Sure." They called back. "But why not use your bedroom?" she asked.

Zara chuckled then called "his name is Josh."

There was a pause where Zara and Josh looked at each other with a grin. "Oh sure." The voice tried to sound casual, before they picked up their bags and headed through the kitchen. "Mom, this is Josh." She said to the women kissing her on the cheek the older women doing the same to her.

"Hello Josh." The women smiled to him.

"Hi—um Hello Mrs Roberts." He said.

"You don't mind the sound of cooking while you work?" she asked him.

"No." He shook his head.

"Snack?" she asked them.

Josh looked shocked at such a question while Zara answered for them in the positive as she sat at the island in the kitchen where there were some stools.

"So, where are you up to in of mice and men?" she asked him.

"Only where we're up to in class." He shrugged. "actually I need to actually..." he looked down quietly where unseen to him Zara and her mother looked at each other. Zara's mother put down the tray in front of them. Josh looked amazed at the glasses of milk and the cut up apple and peanut butter in front of them.

"Well lets start it again. I'll read the narration bits, I'll be Lenny you be George." She suggested.

"Okay." He nodded.

An hour later they looked up to see the family had entered around them, getting on with various things. It turned out Zara was the middle of three daughters an older sister and a younger one. Mrs Robert's was a receptionist at the middle school Zara had just left, her father was a dentist. Zara's older sister Hannah came in from swim team practice, she was a senior in high school and her younger sister Grace was in middle school and head cheerleader this year.

"Josh would you like to stay for dinner?"

"Oh, no thank you." He blushed quietly. "Thats kind but I better get home." He said putting his books back in his bag.

"I'll just go get something." Zara told him as she disappeared upstairs.

"So you all do athletic stuff?" he asked them. "Zara never said what hers is."

"Dance." Her mother looked surprised.

"Oh what kind?" he asked.

"Ballroom mostly but she's on the dance team at school."

"What do you play Josh?" Grace asked him.

"Oh." He said shaking his head not sure what to say. "I don't know if I have one yet really." He admitted. "Is that bad?" he asked.

Mrs Roberts shook her head "not necessarily, its good to be physically fit, it helps with your mind, activity breeds activity."

He listened and nodded. "That makes sense." He agreed.

Mrs Roberts looked at him seriously. "You could start with track." She suggested "Cardio activities see where it leads you."

He smiled and nodded, "Thanks." He said to her.

"Josh?" Zara said with a nod to him to beckon him to the door.

"It was really nice to meet you all." He said genuinely.

"You're welcome." Mrs Roberts said to him as he stood, she looked him in the eyes the first time he could remember a mother looking at him like that she said "you can come any time."

He smiled and thanked her, before joining Zara in the front corridor area.

"Your family is really nice." He whispered to her.

"Thanks." Zara said with a smile to him as he put on his coat. "Here." She said to him.

He looked at the tablet she handed him. "Whats this?" he asked her.

"My old fire tablet, and the charger." She told him. "Its memory is wiped so its like brand new, I don't need this, I've got the one I used earlier, its just lying in my draw, its mine to give away, its a shame for it to go to waste."

He looked to it, then to her. "Thank you." He said quietly. "Can you help me set it up?" he asked her.

"Sure." She said to him. "I can come to your house after dinner, do you have wifi?" she asked him.

"No." He said quietly. "But the library does." He said hopefully. "Could you meet me there, show me how to do it?" he asked.

"Sure." She nodded.

"Cool." He smiled. "Um, half six?" he asked her to which she nodded. "Cool." He smiled. "Zara are you sure?" he asked her.

"Do you have one?" she asked him.

"well, no." He admitted.

"I'll show you how to use it if you don't need it after a few weeks then just give it back." She suggested.

* * *

A week later Josh came into school. He could feel people were looking at him oddly though at first he couldn't work out why at first. He eventually got into first period where Zara looked at him.

"Finally!" He exclaimed to her "tell me, what the hell is wrong with me?!" he exclaimed.

Zara smiled "Nothing." She chuckled "but you cut your hair." She observed.

"Yeah so?" he asked.

"A good haircut does wonders in high school Josh." She grinned "don't you know?" she asked him.

He looked at her quizzically and said "Did I tell you I made the hockey team?" he asked her to which she shook her head. "Coach Taylor said I'm better then Blake Robson anyway." He said with a smile.

"Well done." Zara replied genuinely "that's really good." She told him.

"Who is that?!" they heard one of the girls whisper in front of them "Next to Zara?"

"Oh his name is Josh." One of the other girls whispered "He's on the hockey team."

"He's cute." They whispered followed by a giggle.

Josh looked genuinely stunned.

"Told you." Zara whispered to him.

"I'm cute?" he whispered to her.

Zara chuckled "fake modesty doesn't suit you mate." She teased him, but she could tell by the look on his face he wasn't kidding.

* * *

The end of the period came and they walked past the same group of girls as they walked down the corridor.

"Hi Josh." One girl said swaying her hips her eyelids fluttering at him as she tugged him by the arm bringing him into the fold.

He stood shocked for a minute looking to Zara for help who simply turned around and walked backwards for a moment a teasing look on her face before she turned back round and walked away.

"Hello." He said looking at them all "Ladies."

"I'm Alexis, this is Lauren and Madison." She told him "How come we haven't seen you before?" she asked him.

"Um." Josh smiled nervously.

Alexis smiled. "You seem nervous?" she questioned him. "Lets see what we can do about it?"

* * *

The end of the semester came, where Josh had worked hard. He was called into the principle office.

"Am I in trouble?" he asked the principle.

"Not at all Josh." The principle smile. "Just missed you." He joked and with a worried look for Josh he beckoned him to sit down. "All your teachers have reported quite a turn around. You've made no trouble kept yourself clean and out of trouble , your class work, your end of semester grades..." He said with a smile. "I don't normal hand these out to students but..." he handed him the slip of paper.

Josh smiled looking at the results. Two A's mostly B's and one C.

"From your last middle school report card to this..." his head teacher said "Josh this is extraordinary."

Josh's chest puffed up in pride as he looked to those marks on the report card. "I've always been jealous when I've seen others with grades like this!" he admitted. He looked up at the Principle "Could I go to university with grades like this?" he asked.

The Principle smiled "Are you still wanting to?" he asked.

"Being a surgeon," he said thoughtfully "really seems to call to me. I could make a difference, I could be productive, I could make money..." he said "then my mom and dad wouldn't need to live like they do, they could come and live with me in a nice house and they wouldn't have to be so depressed." He said looking at the card again, unseen to Josh the principle looked sadly at him. "I've already decided I'm going to save at least £100 dollars of my pay a week then I can pay for my own college tutitions, at least to start with, I can get another part time job at college, I don't know what yet, but I could, and start saving up for medical school..."

The principle looked at him and nodded. "You know there are bursaries and grants, scholarships which could help you." He told Josh. "See the guidance councillor she'll have more information."

"T-thank you." Josh stuttered.

"Keep improving like this Josh, you could well qualify for some help, you wouldn't have to pay for it all on your own."

When Josh came out Alexis was waiting for him "Hey." She smiled as he came out, he put his arm around her as they walked out the office "Are you okay?" she asked him.

"Yeah," he said "just a catch up, making sure I was keeping my nose clean."

Alexis smiled "I can't believe you caused such a rumpus at the beginning of the year."

Josh shrugged "I was making my mark." He said jokingly.

"Hey can I come over tonight?" she asked him. "we can Netflix and, you know..." she shrugged.

"I'm going to Zara's tonight." He said honestly. "we're doing that extra credit Mathletics, we're just working on that."

Alexis flicked her blond hair back, "You're very nice to her." She told Josh.

Josh rolled his eyes "well she's my friend," he admitted, though perhaps he thought her more as his best friend.

"I have basketball." She said to him.  
"I have track." He said after a quick peck on the cheek they parted into their separate locker rooms.

* * *

"Joshua!" His mother called him out of his room a couple of days later.

"Yeah?" he asked opening his door coming out to the living room.

"What's this?" she asked him waving the paper in front of him.

"My report card." He said catching a glimpse of it. She slapped him across his head. "Ow!"

"Where's the real one?" she asked him.

"That _is_ the real one." He told her.

"Don't lie, you couldn't get these grades." She told him "What did you do break into the office and change your grades?" she asked.

"If I was smart enough to do that I wouldn't need to." He muttered.

"Use black pen?" she asked him.

"The envelope was sealed." He observed.

"I get reports of you mouthing off at school, then a few weeks later you're a smart arse?" she asked him.

"That was at the beginning of the semester," he muttered, "I changed my mind." He started to go back to his bedroom.

"Where are you going?" She asked him.

"Out." He said grabbing his bag zipping it up.

"where out?" she asked him.

He opened the door "Just out."

* * *

"...I wish..." he trailed then stopped himself. "Sorry." He whispered.

"Don't be." Zara told him putting her arm around him his going around her as they looked out to the shore. "I wish they knew you well enough to know you weren't lying."

"Its okay." He whispered to her "I can do it without them."

"Course you can." She told him and after a moments silent she asked him "Do you want to tell someone about your parents?" she asked him.

He took a deep breath and sighed. "They've given me what I need, and I don't think they don't love me, its just..." he trailed "...first Hannah and now Micheal, I mean they're just broken." He shrugged.

"What do you remember about her?" she asked.

"That she was a cute little baby." He grinned. "I was only four but Micheal was much older, he remembered it all." He took a deep sigh "everything changed when she died, cot death is no one's fault..." he shrugged. "Dad was bipolar, without any support, he wouldn't take his medicine, it lead to the drink and mom just..." he looked down to her "maybe we could have been more like your family if she'd lived."

She chuckled a little before he squeezed her. "You can come over you know, any time you want." She told him "we like you."

* * *

 **Senior year.**

"Josh!" he heard from behind him.

"Hey Marcus." He smiled at the other hockey player. "Good winter vacation?" he asked.

"Great." He said with a smile "I got an Xbox One S for Christmas." He smiled "I'm having a Xbox party tonight, some of the others are coming over with games, we have this huge 50inch tv with surround sound, do you want to come?"

"Sure." He smiled "That sounds great." He admitted "bit of fun before we get started on the semester sounds right."

"Not that you need it huh?" Marcus commented, Josh now was a straight 'A' student and in the serious possibility of being valedictorian. "How was your Christmas?" he asked.  
Josh smiled. He had spent most Christmas morning at Zara's even Christmas dinner. They had even got him small gifts, but none the less appreciated. He had likewise spent a small amount of each of them.

After 2pm he headed over to Alexis'. Their relationship had been a very casual one, Josh had never actually taken her home to meet his parents, not because he didn't like Alexis, it was just, she didn't know about his living arrangements and he'd prefer she would never find out, it hadn't been a sore spot between them thankfully each time it got close to being that serious she had broken it off, saying he wasn't a serious boyfriend, he would take another girl out not to make her jealous just because they weren't dating anymore, but she would get jealous and demand him back. It wasn't that he didn't care, Alexis was a nice girlfriend, she was a nice girl, their relationship just wasn't all that, serious. Even so he had gone over to her house after 2pm and spent time with her and her parents (she being an only child). He had bought her a sweet necklace she wore today round her neck, he was proud she was able to wear it, even if he did spend more on her then anyone else that Christmas. It had been he reflected, one of the nicest Christmas' ever.

Josh had become a solid hard working character. Still able to joke and carry himself as if he didn't care, but he did. He was humorous, well liked and even the principle observed, down right cocky at times. Those close to him knew of his humility and teased him over his persona, but he didn't mind. Very few knew the full truth, the Principle and Zara knowing all of it.

"Really nice thanks." Josh told Marcus.

"Got your college applications in yet?" Marcus asked him.

"Yeah." Josh nodded. "Alberta, Calgary and Redmond."

"Well!" Marcus exclaimed "Redmond? Isn't that in Nova Scotia?" Marcus asked.

"Thats the one!" Josh smiled.

"That's the other side of the country." Marcus remarked.

"And the one I'm hoping on with the scholarship. Did you know the science department only gives out one per year? There's the one in football but I'd have no chance in getting that, and the Avery went to someone on Prince Edward Island so that science scholarship would save me no end of problems." He admitted. "What about you?"

"No, no college for me bud, some of us are better with our hands." Marcus told him "A builder for me."

"Nice." Josh said nodding his head. "Lots of fresh air." He said with a grin to his friend.

"Hey Jossssh!" Alexis fluttered coming by his side as he slowed down to her locker. "How ya doing?" she flirted.

"I think you know the answer to that." He told her putting one arm around her back bringing her chest to chest closer to him as they kissed gently for a moment.

"I do, I just like to check. You know now we're heading into our second semester _we're_ going to have to think about, just how far we'll go." She whispered to him fluttering her eyes.

He smiled at her whisper when a small "ahem" interrupted them. They both looked to the source, behind Josh a big smile appearing on Josh's face as he turned around.

"Hey Zara." He said to her as his eyes lit.

"Hey yourself." She said to him her eyes indicating behind him. Josh knew Zara didn't enjoy Alexis' presence merely tolerated her for his sake. "Hey Alexis."

"Oh hey Zara, did you have a nice Christmas Vacation?" She asked vacantly turning into her locker.

"Sure." Zara replied.

"Super." Alexis said shortly.

Zara smiled and looked at Josh "Your Maths work, you left it at mine the other day." She said.

"Ah!" he exclaimed happily. "I was hoping I'd left it there, I was worried my mom had actually came into my room and somehow only cleared away this."

"Why would your mom just clear away a maths book?" Alexis asked from behind.

"Oh you know," Josh turned and shrugged at her "Why do parents do anything?" He turned back round to Zara. "So, we have that Chem test in a week I was wondering if we could maybe go over some notes? Get some cramming in before, this counts towards our final mark."

"I know it does." She nodded. "Sure when?" she asked him.

"Tomorrow night?" he asked her.

"Ummm you can't tomorrow night." Alexis interrupted. "We're going out remember?"

"Right!" he exclaimed not turning away from Zara. "I um, that's right." He nodded. "How about Wednesday and Friday?" he asked her.

"Two night." She nodded, "You must be nervous." She teased him as she started to walk away.

"Is that a yes?" he called after her. She didn't turn around at first instead her hand went out beside her rocking back and forth. "Oh come on!" he exclaimed "You can't leave a boy hanging like that Zara." She turned around and laughed before she nodded her head.

He smiled at her "Thanks." He called and he watched her as she walked down the corridor.

"I am so glad you have a nerdy friend to help you with all your smart stuff." Alexis said to him. "That way the time we have together is just for us."

Josh finally snapped out of his trance and turned back round to Alexis. "Yeah." He agreed with her.

"So what are we doing tomorrow night?" she asked him.

The following night came where they had a nice evening together.

* * *

"Thank you for tonight." She told him.

"Your welcome." He said to her with a kiss on the lips.

"Can I ask you something?" Alexis asked.

"Sure?" he replied.

"when are you going to invite me back to your place?" she asked him.

He took a deep breath and blushed.

"It just I mean we've been on and off again the last three years well you know four really...you know this is our last year in high school and I just think its time to start thinking about getting serious about stuff."

"What's wrong with how things are?" he asked her.

"Josh come on, we'll be going to college next year where do you see this going? Still casually dating into college? And what happens if you go all the way to Redmond? I mean tis the other side of the country."

"I dunno." He said looking at her amazed. "Come on Lexi we don't have to talk about it right now."

"Well, yes." Alexis objected "I think we do."

"Well, then, do you want us to be more serious?" he asked her.

She took a deep sigh thinking of what to honestly say "I want you to want me."

"Come on baby, you know I want you." He tried.

"Well, then what would be so bad about taking me home and meeting your family."

"No!" He objected automatically and rather fast.

"Why?" she demanded.

"because... I..." he struggled.

"Are you ashamed of me?" she asked him.

"What?" he asked her. "No!"

"Then what?" she asked.

"Why, why would you want to meet my parents?" he asked her.

"Well I like you so I might like them." She said logically.

He took a deep breath trying to find the right words, but it took so long she stood up.

"Well right, fine then." She said "I guess that's it then."

"What do you mean?"

"Look you clearly think I'm not good enough..."

"No Alexis, that is not it!" he tried to start.

"Can you see us in your future Josh?" she asked him.

"I um, I don't understand?" he questioned her back.

"You have this vision of how things will be right? So tell me, do you think I'll be there with you?" she asked him.

He paused. In all truth, no, he hadn't seen her there, not in college not in medical school and not beyond.

She took a sigh "Well there's my answer." She started to walk away before she turned "You know I'm not angry, I'm not doing this because I'm mad." She told him. "It just, it seems as though, your heart has never fully been in this relationship."

"I've never cheated!" he exclaimed

"No you haven't." She agreed matter of fact "but you've never loved me either, and that's okay, its just, its not worth trying to make it work." She told him.

He sighed. "Let me at least get you home safe."

* * *

"So its over?" Zara asked him. "As in over, over?" She asked him. They had over the course of four years migrated their studies to Zara's bedroom, they were often found with the door open, sitting on the sofa, the desk the bed the floor just anywhere, and studied together. Right now she was sitting at the head of her bed her legs up looking at him as he paced the carpet in her room as he told her the events of the night before.

"She wants commitment and love." Josh shrugged sitting beside her, his legs copying hers their arms touching each other. "Even if I could give her commitment which I can't right now, then I..." he took a heavy sigh "...I don't think I love her, I mean its been over three years of casual dating and I don't feel anything, its not her, exactly." Josh said looking down into his hands.

"Commitment?" she asked. "Like going off to university?" she asked him.

"I want to go to Redmond." He said. "I have to get the funding, but I want to go there it has the best life science programme in Canada and the best funded. And who knows after that? What if I get to go to medical school?" he questioned her.

There was silence between the two friends for a moment before Zara said "No commitment to Alexis? Or _any_ girl?"

He sat silently for a moment he could feel his heartbeat in his throat. "Depends I suppose?" he responded. "Could she change her mind and come with me?"

Zara sighed disappointed and she swallowed. "Redmond might not have the program she wants to enrol in, if the right girl wanted to enrol at all."

They looked at each other for a moment before he looked away with pink cheek.

"Long distance?" Zara enquired.

"N-no." He said with certainty. "Its too far and I don't intend on coming back." He told her.

"Ever?!" she gasped.

He shrugged and shook his head "Uni is four year medical school is three plus internship is another two to three, that's a long time to keep a long distance relationship going and anyway what do I have to come back to?" he questioned her.

She looked away disappointed and shrugged.

* * *

 **Day one of university**.

"Josh!" She called to him through the crowds. "Josh wait!"

Josh turned at the sound of his name being called. "Zara!" he said now standing still she leaped into his arms. "What are you doing here?" he asked her.

"I didn't want you leaving with no one to say goodbye to." She told him still in his arms.

He held her a little tighter "How did you know I would be alone?" he asked her.

"I know you." She smiled as they finally moved back to look at each other. "They didn't come?" she asked.

He shrugged "Dad told me , they didn't have the money for that sort of thing, if I went I wouldn't be his son anymore and my mom was too drunk to say anything." He said shaking his head "I don't understand why aren't they proud of me Zara? I'm the only child they have left, I don't understand..."

She made eye contact with him and whispered "They're sad, their so sad, they can't even see the good." She told him. "I'm proud of you."

He smiled down into her eyes and confided in her "I'm terrified."

"Don't be." She told him. "You go and show them that confident cocky soul I know you really are." She joked.

He grinned taking her in his arms again kissing her on her forehead and whispered to her "Come with me?" he asked her.

"I can't." She whispered to him, she told him and then looked at him "I..." she started but shook her head. "I'm um, I'm going to miss you." She told him.

"You too." He told her.

"Do you have everything you need?" she asked him.

Where he nodded "All I own is in these bags, once I'm settled in my halls I'll find a job and start all over again." He told her.

"Do you have something to read on your flights?" she asked him concerned.

He pulled out the old Kindle "I have um, _our_ kindle." He said with a chuckle which made her smile too. "I'll be fine."

She nodded again. "Keep in touch." She whispered.

"Bye." He whispered to her looking her in the eye.

"Bye." She whispered.

 **Two years later.**

Josh picked up the mail not looking at it at first. A busy second year and he was missing his friend Gilbert while he was swanning of in New York. Of course, Josh couldn't blame him, if he had the chance of the exchange he would have _loved_ it. But Gilbert loved Anne, and Anne didn't seem herself since he left, she seemed sad lonely and distance. So, why did Gilbert go anyway?! He walked up the stairs taking them two steps at a time, taking out his key he entered the corridor to his student flat and dumped the envelopes on the side ready to read later. He flopped on his bed tired knowing he would need to be out again in a three of hours. He set the alarm on his phone for two hours from then and went to sleep.

A bit groggy but nothing an energy drink wouldn't fix he reached into the mini fridge in his room and pulled one out. Finally feeling a bit better he reached over to the envelopes.

'Junk mail, junk mail..." he paused at the off white envelope. He knew the handwriting on the front better then anyone else's but the return address confirmed it.

"Zara." He whispered.

He opened the envelope to find something which made him sit in shock back on his bed.

 _With great pleasure_

 _Mr & Mrs Robert would like to formally invite you_

 _To the wedding of their daughter Zara Louise Roberts to Mr Drew Hendersey._

Very quickly he noticed another sheet of paper slipped in which he opened.

 _Dear Josh,_

 _I know I said it wasn't serious, but things have moved really fast! I would love it if you could come home and see me get married!_

 _Please come if you can._

 _Love_

 _Zara._

He bit his lip and unexpectedly controlled his breathing to stop the tears and came to a realisation.

He'd lost her.

* * *

Literally a story about Josh, almost 10K!


	82. House of Dreams Chapter 3

**So, I know you all have further questions on Josh, it isn't in this chapter but it is in another chapter I have planned, where those questions will be answered so just wait for me. Honestly, there's nothing like creating a backstory for your own character and the way I see it is that yes, they do appear out of no where because their fictional, but a character is not just existing they should have purpose if they are going to play a part in the main characters lives and in order for them to fulfil whatever purpose, they have to have motivation and for them to have motivation they have a life as well as the main characters. I love Josh, as much as I loved Andy in my 'becoming jane' story, and subsequently all of Anne's siblings in that series! Josh does have his own story within the story and I promise you its coming I just need to write this one first.**

 **And I apologise for the delay. Here in the UK we have a three pronged plug the bottom two actually carry the electric and the top on is a safety feature to plug in. The safety prong snapped on my laptop charger meaning I couldn't charge it until I got a replacement and my laptop is one of those tablet which turns into a laptop things so I needed a specific one... it all took a while! Which meant I couldn't even write (well I could if I used my smart phone but using something that small for something this big is a nightmare!**

* * *

 **Three years later.**

"Anne!" she heard him call as she showered "Do you know where my profile folder is?" he asked her.

"Try in our room, top of the bookshelf." She called then waiting for a few seconds, her modesty hardly a problem anymore she stood back in the bathtub the shower still pattering beside her as she as she heard him move in their bedroom. She smiled at the bathroom door opened and he appeared at the door.

"Lifesaver." He smiled at his naked wife, he looked her up and down before giving out a low whistle "Damn girl!" he exclaimed "Do you have to make it quite so difficult to leave?"

"Oh you like what you see?" she flirted with him her eye fluttering. "You could always join me." She enticed him.

He stood next to the bath and reached up for her lips, them meeting part way as they kissed. "I wish I could." He said honestly "but then I would be late for my shift and then the knock on effecting that I could be..."

"Late for your meeting." Anne nodded. "I know," she shrugged.

"Plus shouldn't you be getting out of there, you'll be late for school." He asked her.

"Yes." She sighed heavily before she turned the water off. She turned and saw Gilbert standing with a smirk on his face and a towel in his hands for her to step into.

She stepped out of the tub their lips meeting again before she whispered "Thank you."

"Have a good day at school." He said to her.

"You too." She smiled before she reached for her phone "I miss you."

"I miss you too beautiful." He whispered to her. "This is insane, I think I saw more of you when you were in Avonlea and I was in medical school."

"...and the two years previous." Anne said quietly.

"Alright we need to fix this." He said shaking his head taking his phone out. "I'm taking you out tonight."

"I can't, staff meeting." Anne told him.

"Oh um, not tomorrow, I'm on my 18 hour shift." He said with a heavy sigh. "Which really takes out the next day." He said. "Um Saturday?" he asked.

"No we're going up to Avonlea remember?" she asked him "We promised your mother."

"And you know what happens when we break those promises." He chuckled.

"That chocolate devil cake sticks better in your memory then any other punishment I've seen." Anne returned

"My mother, ladies and gentlemen the mistress of physiological warfare." He joked.

"And your stomach." Anne added.

"What about next week?" Gilbert asked.

"No," Anne shook her head. "We're all on high alert at school, the board is coming in for an inspection, so the school and the teachers all need to be on high alert."

"Oh damn, plus I'm on lates all of next week." He muttered.

"Oh." She said confused "I thought you said you could come to my work Christmas Party. Miss Stacy is looking forward to see you."

"You know I could never disappoint Miss Stacy. I already swapped my shift it means working for 18 hours straight but I can sleep in the car if you come and get me straight from the hospital. I'll change in the car."

"Deal." Anne nodded. "So um, maybe it is a date?" she fluttered with a smile.

He told a deep sigh and smiled at her "I love how low maintance you are."

"I love you." She smiled before she kissed him again. "now go!"

* * *

"Hello Mrs Blythe." Anne was surprised by the voice for a moment before she looked up towards the back of her classroom. "Well Paul Irving!" she exclaimed, standing from her desk and walking up the aisle to meet him. "What on earth are you doing back in your old haunt?" she asked him.

He smiled as they embraced for a moment and he pulled back. The lad who was once eleven years old and being taken to football games by Anne and Gilbert now stood tall and handsome at almost 23. "I could ask the same of you." He teased.

"I'm a teacher." She chuckled.

"I'm here to meet dad." He nodded.

"Ah yes, my direct boss." She smiled.

"Dad doesn't think of you like that." Paul objected.

"No, he sees me as his student still," she commented and cut Paul off before he objected "I'm not complaining I see it in his eyes, but luckily your father always showed me every respect so there is little difference in the way he treats me to anyone else."

"No Anne, its much more then that." Paul informed her "he still harps on about how wonderful you are as a teacher this time," Paul told her "I think he respects you most of all, but he's always hesitant to show favourites in his department, head of arts shouldn't have favourites." He smiled. "How Gilbert?" he asked her.

"Working hard as he always does." Anne reflected, but when Paul nodded something in his demure changed which told Anne this wasn't quite the social visit. "but, then, is there something more to this Paul?" she asked him.

He took a heavy sigh. "I need an opinion which isn't dad's..." he trailed. "Or mom's." He shrugged "their too close."

"Oh?" she asked.

He nodded taking a stepback and resting his weight in the desk behind him. "Angela tried to make contact." He said quietly.

Anne looked at him in shock for a moment before taking a likewise refuse on the desk behind her. "Your mother?" she asked.

"If you mean the women who gave birth to me yes." He said. "She wants to meet me." He said.

They stood in silence for a moment.

"Oh!" Anne exclaimed. "I see." She added with a swallow.

"See Mom and Dad both think I should." He told her, and upon Anne's silent response he leap up and paced a little, "I don't know how they could even think it never mind say it." He muttered resentfully.

"You can't?" Anne asked genuinely confused.

"You know I know she abandoned me, she didn't want me!" he exclaimed shaking his head "What, now she wants it so I have to jump and say how high?" Anne took a deep breath before he continued. "Mom is my mom, more then a mother then she ever could be, was it Angela who came to my football games? Was it Angela who came to my high school graduation, or who supported me in my writing or who drove me to my high school dance or who healed a sixteen year olds broken heart because his girlfriend dumped him? And a thousand other things every day? No it was my mom who did that."

"And it speaks volumes of how you feel towards Lavender that you can't even bring yourself to call her by her first name, you still call her mom, even after entering adulthood." Anne told him logically.

"So why are they trying to encourage me?!" Paul asked her.

"Objectively..." Anne said looking at him "Even though it is that she is your birth mother, that alone is enough for a few minutes of your attention." Anne said "they probably think by meeting her you'll learn something of yourself and are so encouraging you to try." Anne told him. "They might think if they discouraged it that it might be selfish of them."

Paul looked up confused "so they encourage me regardless of their own feelings on the subject?" he asked her.

"Parents do it, so that their child can have healthy relationships, when both sides are focused on the wellbeing on a child all else goes out the window." She said calmly.

Paul sighed. "I'm turning 23 very very soon. Why 23 years later?"

"I don't know her motivations." Anne said softly.

Paul sat at the desk he was sitting on. "Anne." He said softly his elbows resting on the desk his hands on his forehead his head slightly bowed. "I needed a mother, dad was awesome don't get me wrong, I love him I know all he did for me and he was my parent but until mom came back into our lives I didn't have one, one parent can't make up for another no matter how well they do, I mean dad deserves all the credit all the praise and mom when she came back into our lives..." he trailed "I have a mom and a dad, so what is she?!" he exclaimed.

Anne sat down at the desk in front of him and turned her body to look at him. "It might be your chance to find out." She said quietly to him. "I know its not the same circumstances, but I know I would love to have met my parents. It wasn't their choice which separated us, but maybe its the chance to learn something of ones self which pushes that urge." She said.

Paul sighed and looked up at her "so you think I should meet her too?" he asked.

Anne sighed "It doesn't matter what I think, or your dad or your mom." She told him. "it matters what you think, and your parents are only encouraging you because they want you to make your own decisions and not depend on their emotions on the situation." She sighed and looked at him "though if you did go, you might get some questions answered." She told him.

* * *

That night Gilbert burst through the door with the biggest smile on his face Anne had seen in long time.

"Anne!" he exclaimed meeting her as she stood up by the sofa, in one swoop he lifted her spinning her round the room. "Their going to recommend me Anne." He smiled at her. She looked at him quizzically before he continued "I thought having just three years of residency under my belt would go against me, but it turns out they like new blood someone not too set in their ways and they like me Anne, they like how I work they like that I'm flexible, I didn't think I would stand a chance but I'm recommended Anne, this could be the start of everything!" he exclaimed.

"Gilbert?" she looked at him confused.

"The fellowship Anne, a place has come up and they want me to apply, I mean they can't guarantee the place but they want to coach me on it, and it wouldn't be until September Anne, but if they coach me now when its time to apply I'll be in good standing!"

Anne laughed in relief "The fellowship!" she exclaimed "I thought they said there wasn't a placement for at least another five years."

"I suppose where there is a need." He shrugged. "What do you think?" he asked her.

"What do you mean what do I think that's an amazing opportunity!" she exclaimed. "Is it still what you want?" she asked him.

He nodded enthusiastically before he looked down into her eyes. "For Joy." He whispered swaying them back and forward.

Anne smiled looking down as he held swiped his hand across her stomach looking down at it for a moment, he looked up into her eyes and she nodded "For Joy."

He took a deep sigh "it'll mean more work." He told her.

"Like we're not used to that." She smiled.

"No, but..." he shrugged, "I don't want you feeling neglected." He told her. "I love you, you're my wife, I didn't marry you to ignore you."

She smiled looking up into his eyes "You don't ignore me." She admitted "We're busy yes, but ignore is not the right word." She added "and its not neglect." She told him "I'm a useful sort of wife aren't I? I don't sit at home all day crying hey ho for my husband."

He chuckled at her remark "I wish you would more often." He teased her.

Anne chuckled "now you know you wouldn't like that, you've never been into weak women."

He smiled giving her shameless eyes "No I can't say I have ever been into that sort of girl." He said with a flirt in his tone.

"Behave!" she exclaimed.

"Never!" he teased her, before he swept her up in his arms "In said spirit..." he teased "I seem to remember a certain Josie Pye once coming up with the ultimate chat up line, which if you had said it, let me tell you would have got a completely different reaction."

"Oh?!" Anne exclaimed confused.

"Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?" he managed to chuckle out after her reaction as he carried her through the corridor to their bedroom.

"Oh!" Anne said in some relief "Oui, s'il te plait mon mari." She flirted back.

Gilbert's breath caught again "Ah! La dame sait le francais!"

Anne's eyebrows wiggled "Oui monsieur Blythe, il me tarde de vous faire l'amour"

"Vos desirs sont des ordres." He whispered lowly to her as he lowered them onto the bed.


	83. When the past comes back

**Hi everyone, I've Taken my sweet time with this because the next few chapters are interrelating and so I wanted stuff right before publishing. So much is going on in real life, but thank you so much for following and reading and reviewing!**

 **love**

 **Carrots x**

* * *

"Its hard to believe Josh, lived the other side of the country once upon a time." Anne remarked as they boarded the plane.

"I think he's made himself a Kingsport man." Gilbert said with a smile "that's the difference between us you see."

Anne laughed, "there's more difference then that." She said handing her ticket to the air hostess with a smile and a 'hello' to her. "He never talked about his family back home."

Gilbert shrugged following Anne up the aisle. "Well, he never had their support." He said. "His sister died when she was a baby and his brother died of a drugs overdose, his mother and father never recovered from his sister dying, so when his brother died they just broke. Josh pulled himself through high school, worked his way through it and university, grants and bursaries, scholarships were just as important to him as it was to us."

"They didn't have the money?" she asked.

Gilbert shook his head as they sat down, "Not just that, his father basically told him not to come back if he went to university, that he wasn't their son if he went."

Anne looked aghast at Gilbert "The same father we're going to a funeral for?"

Gilbert took her by the hand "I don't think he's going to grieve, I think he's going to support his mother, he's doing it because he's a decent human being." He said. "and I think he needs our support with it."

Anne looked sadly forward shaking her head "Poor Josh." She said quietly "I can't imagine what he's going through." Anne nodded "did he have any friends back home?" she asked.

"None he kept in touch with, the first couple of years at Redmond he mentioned a friend back home, a girl, Zara I think her name was, but after I came back from New York, he didn't talk about her again. I think they just fell out of touch. Everyone else, I think he's on facebook with but, none he would really call 'friend.'"

"So how did he find out about his dad?" she asked.

"He never changed his mobile number, in all the years I've known him, its the same number he had in high school I think. His mom still had that number and called him a couple of days ago, when he finished on the phone with her, he called us."

"And we jumped." Anne smiled. "Same day we're on a plane."

"It'll be nice to see him again." Gilbert smiled.

"Its been a year right?" Anne thought.

"Almost, yeah. We went up to Kingsport for Joy's birthday and left flowers at the bench." He looked to Anne and squeezed her hand. "I love you." He told her.

"You too," she agreed with a nod. "Let go see where Josh grew up."

* * *

"Hello mom." Josh said quietly as his childhood door opened.

The women eyed up the man standing before him. Not that she told him, but she saw her husbands blue eyes in her son and her husbands nose and chin, indeed just as his father was, Josh was now a handsome man, if it weren't for the family resemblance however, she wasn't sure how much of her son she would recognise anymore.

"Josh." She said not embracing him, not sure what to do anymore.

"I'm here." He said quietly "work was understanding, gave me two weeks leave."

"Work?" she asked.

"The hospital." Josh reminded her.

She nodded "Right. So..." she shrugged "are you a doctor already?" she asked him.

"Already?" he questioned "Its been ten years since I left for Red..." he looked to her, she was clearly confused he took a deep sigh. "Yeah, mom, already. I'm a doctor."

She looked at him "What kind?" she questioned.

He smiled sadly "A surgeon, in his residency." He said. "Can I come in?" he asked her, to which she stood aside. "How's the funeral plans?" he asked her.

"I, um..." she looked to her son confused. "I um, I don't know."

He turned to see her shut the door behind him. She turned around and looked at him sadly. "Okay," he said with a nod. "Lets see what we have planned, we can go from there." He said calmly. He put down his bag and turned to see her still standing by the door. "Mom?" he asked her as she burst into tears.

"You're all I have left!" she exclaimed.

Josh stood in shock for a moment before he approached her his arms going around her.

"I failed you." She wailed. Josh swallowed, wishing he could contradict her. "I've been awful, how could I not know! You're a doctor and a surgeon, I thought, I... I... I didn't know."

He held her closer "its okay mom." He said quietly kissing her hair the squeezing her. "We can fix this mom, its okay."

"Can, are you going to stay here?" she asked him.

"I can." He told her. "I have a couple of friends, from university coming to town, they are staying at the hotel, they're coming to support us, I'm sure they'd like to meet you too." He whispered to her.

"More doctors?" she asked him.

He chuckled "One of them is, my best friend, his name is Gilbert, different kind of doctor, he's a pediatric doctor. The other is my friend too but also his wife, her name is Anne and she's an English teacher and author."

She nodded before he continued "They're coming in on the ten o'clock plane from the airport I need to pick them up." He told her. "Until later you have me all afternoon." He told his mother.

* * *

"Mom, Can I talk to you?" Paul entered the study in the house.

Since Lavender and Stephen married they had the money to move into a house.

"Of course, come on in." She smiled. "Term papers." She smiled looking at the paper. "to be honest I could do with a distraction."

He nodded "its always a busy time."

"Is something on your mind?" She asked him.

Paul nodded then shook his head and sighed heavily. "I don't know." He admitted. "I spoke to Anne about meeting Angela, I wanted an outsiders view." He told her.

"And?" Lavendar asked him.

"She said it was my decision." Paul told her, "but see that's where my problems are." He told her. "I can't put aside your feelings or dads, I know you've both said I should but I can't, this was your history, for so long, not just mine, our lives are interwoven so tightly, what I do will effect you and dad, and mom, I don't know if I could stand seeing you or dad get hurt."

Lavendar looked to this thoughtfully. "But?" she questioned.

"I range from absolute refusal to complete submission, from curiosity to repulsion, from calm to anger, and..." he almost angry in that moment before he calmed himself again, "I don't know what path to take."

Lavender listened before she nodded her head. "Angela, wasn't all bad you know." She told him.

Paul chuckled and looked at her "Mom!" he exclaimed "you hated her."

Lavender chuckled "Not even the people we hate are all bad." She told him. "What I fear," she said thoughtfully, "is that you pass this opportunity by, and you'll spend forever wondering what might have happened had you gone." She said frankly.

Paul's arms wrapped around Lavender as he bear hugged her. "Oh mom, if only she hadn't manipulated everything, you could have been my biological mom."

Lavender sighed "then you would not be you." She told him. "and your brother and sister would have had a completely different brother."

Paul unwrapped himself and looked at her his mouth wide open. "Are you serious?!" he exclaimed. "Does dad know?!"

"I sure do." He said from the door. Paul laughed his arms going around his father. "Dad!" he exclaimed. "Mom!" he said again. "Oh my God this is fantastic!" he exclaimed. "I'm going to have a little brother or sister!"

Lavender smiled "no one knows yet so we need to keep it between us."

"But we thought you should know, if there's any sickness, or mood swings..." Stephen said with a glint in his eye to Lavender.

Paul looked to his father and nodded. "Dad." He said quietly.

Stephen nodded. "I know." He said quietly. "You have to meet her."

* * *

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I wish it could have been under better circumstances." Gilbert said with a small smile to Mrs Green. "I'm sorry for your lost."

"Finally?" she asked as Gilbert and Anne sat on the sofa together.

"Gilbert has been my friend since freshman year at Redmond mom, he got curious about where I came from, how I got to uni." Josh said quietly.

"Oh." Mrs Green nodded. "Well..." she said confused. "He um, he really knuckled down when he started high school." She told Gilbert. "And, you had that girlfriend..." she said slowly.

"Alexis?" Josh asked confused, "but I never even brought her..."

"No, that wasn't her name, the smart one, with brown hair." His mother counted.

Anne and Gilbert both looked to Josh, Anne with a slight smile on her face and Gilbert quizzically.

"Oh, um..." he said nervously. "You mean Zara." He said avoiding eye contact. "She, and I...um, we were never together."

His mother chuckled "I beg to differ young man, you were always going round hers 'to study'."

Josh blushed looking into his lap "and that's all we did." He said quietly with a strain to his voice which was noticed by both Anne and Gilbert. "its how I graduated." He said frankly.

"What were you valedictorian?" His mother asked.

"No, I um graduated second in my class." He nodded.

"Salutatorian?" Gilbert asked with a smile to his friend. "You never told me that."

"Well when you're in the company of high school royality..." he said with a smile to Gilbert and Anne, "They were both Valedictorian, well joint valedictorian with each other in high school."

"Hey, I would have been happy in second place." Gilbert admitted.

"Me too, if it meant you got the honor." Anne said with a smile.

"But Miss Stacy couldn't choose." Gilbert said with a smile.

"Second place is still impressive." Anne said to Josh softly.

Josh smiled. "Thanks." He told her, "anyway, how could I keep up with you if I was just the average Joe."

"Does it matter at college?" Mrs Green asked.

Josh smiled "Well Gilbert just outdid everyone at med school anyway, he was literally ahead of everyone. I'm just glad you went into pediatrics that I was tell the truth that I was the best surgeon."

Gilbert shook his head "Hey I would never of made it through med school. After Joy, if it weren't for you."

Mrs Green looked confused at the two.

"You would have done the same for me." Josh replied.

Anne looked to Mrs Green who looked even more confused. "Gilbert and I lost our baby, she was born too early the doctors couldn't save her. Josh was super supportive and took care of us through it all."

"A baby?" She said quietly looking at amazement to her son, a situation so close to Josh's own past, there he stood for them, with them.

"I was just being a good friend." He said humbly. "So the funeral is the day after tomorrow, are you guys still okay to stay?" he asked them.

"Yes absolutely." Gilbert nodded.

"What was he like?" Anne asked them.

Josh looked down not knowing what to say.

"He looked like Josh." Mrs Green said.

Josh looked up surprised and took a deep breath "You never told me that." He said quietly.

"I never saw it." Mrs Green replied quietly. "Till you stood at that door tonight." She said quietly. "and there stood the man I married." She then looked at him "and I realised how much time had passed." She said and paused for a moment. "and just how far apart we were."

* * *

Josh opened the car door from driving back from dropping off Anne and Gilbert at the local hotel. He felt something he hadn't felt _ever_ with regards to either one of his parents.

Hope.

He took a breath in as he entered the house where his heart dropped.

"Mom!" he exclaimed "seriously still!" he tried "with the alcohol!" taking the bottle from her.

"No Joshua give it back!" she exclaimed.

"No I fricking won't!" he shouted pouring the liquid down the sink.

"Joshua!" she screamed as came over the bottle already emptied down the sink.

"You wonder why we have no relationship mom?!You wonder where the years have gone!?" he exclaimed "Down the bottom of a bottle of freaking cheap wine that's where!" he told her "You didn't know I had a job here, did you? You once asked me where I was getting food from, where I was early in the morning and late at night. I was up in the mornings at my job earning money and studying at night, meaning I could go to university!" he exclaimed "You say you regret failing me?!" he exclaimed "You're actions are saying the complete opposite!" he continued "I don't drink mom, you want to know why? I don't want to end up like you and dad!"

"You think yourself better then us!" she screeched.

"I think actions speak louder then words!" he told her "and this!" he said "is speaking volumes!" he told her.

"I can't... I can't..." she shook her head. "I can't do this without it."

He shook his head "and now is your chance to break free!" he exclaimed. "Mom!" he told her putting the bottle down and going to her. "I get that what happened with Hanny was horrible, a parent should never have to loose their child, what happened with Mikey was a tragedy, but this is worse!" he exclaimed. "You have a chance to fix your relationship with your living son and you are passing it up for a bottle of wine!"

"Hanny." She said suddenly quiet. "Do you remember her?" she asked him as if she was in a trance.

"Not a lot." He admitted.

Her mothers lips upturned "You called her Hanny just there." She said quietly. "You couldn't pronounce her name when you were little, so you called her Hanny." Josh touched his mothers shoulder where she suddenly looked up at him. "You were just a baby yourself."

"I grew up." He whispered back.

"What happened?" She asked him.

"For you, pain, grief, sadness." He told her.

"And you?" she asked him.

He took a deep sigh in. "Life." He admitted.

She looked at him deeply before she turned taking the other bottles of wine opening them and pouring them down the sink. "Its over." She told him. "I want to start again."

* * *

Josh took a deep breath as he walked down the aisle with his mother on his arm. He looked over the aisle to Anne and Gilbert and gave them a faint smile.

He sat down not knowing how to feel. Just as Hannah was a faint memory, so was the father he had known. Faint memories of swimming at the local pool, going down to the docks, feeding the ducks and watching the ships. The more prominent memories were far less kind. Shouting, boarder line neglect, could you call it abuse?

But it was still his dad.

His lips smiled a little at his mother telling him time and time again over the last four days that he looked like his father when he was younger.

Apart from that first night, she had stayed away from the drink and through the withdrawal they had planned the funeral. It was simple, mostly because they knew no one would attend, and he wanted to be cremated.

He felt his mother reach for his hand and squeeze it.

His one consolation was that he was here to comfort his mother. Withdrawal wasn't easy, but he being a doctor did have its advantages, and in the in between bits, where it was just he and she, in the quiet moments, he found a soft spoken kind women of his imagines as a child, the one which would rock him to sleep and pepper him with kisses making him laugh, maybe, it wasn't his imagination?

He stood as the coffin was hid behind a curtain then he walked his mother out. They got to the flowers (which Josh had bought along with a couple of other bouquet of flowers) she told him quietly she wanted to look at the flowers herself, he nodded and joined Anne and Gilbert.

"Thank you guys, I can't tell you what this means to me." He told them.

"For you anything." Anne said with a soft smile. "How is your mom holding up?" she asked him.

"Okay..." trailed turning towards her but something else caught his eye. Or rather _someone_ else.

The women was about five four, with brown hair, a sweetheart shaped face and green eyes.

"Josh?" Gilbert whispered wondering at the sudden pause, he looked to Josh then to Anne whose lips had upturned slightly looking towards the women who was coming towards them. "Oh, um, hello?" Gilbert said to her.

"Hello." She said to the group in general but with a look to Josh confused as he looked wide eyed at her with a pitiful look in his eye.

"Gilbert." Gilbert tried to introduce himself offering his hand to shake which she did.

"Zara." She said putting her hand out to Anne to shake.

"Oh!" Gilbert said with a look of surprise "Zara." He smiled "Yes, Josh mentioned you." Gilbert told her.

"Oh?" Zara asked looking at Josh for a response, the latter still mute looking at her.

"Said you were friends." Gilbert admitted.

"Its been a while." She admitted.

"Josh." Gilbert said with a nudge to him.

"Hm." He said snapping out of it wondering at Gilbert's sudden jab.

"We'll um, go talk to your mom." Gilbert said, taking Anne's arm in his they walked away.

They stood for a second before Zara spoke again.

"Hello Josh." She said quietly.

He swallowed and looked at her "You came?" he asked her.

"Of course." She told him "When I heard I knew you would need support." She told him, "Though, you had that covered." She said looking to Gilbert and Anne. "They seem nice." She said.

"No, I... I mean yes, but..." he took a deep breath "I needed you." He said before he retraced what he said, "no, I... I didn't mean that." He tried. "No, no that's not what I mean either." He tried which made her smile for a moment "Hey give a guy a break okay." He said to her, he took a deep breath before he tried "Did you bring your husband?" he asked her.

"Oh, um, no, well, he's my ex-husband now." She told him.

"Oh I'm sorry." He said to her.

"Don't be." She told him.

"What happened?" he asked.

"He cheated." She told him. "I forgave him and he cheated again so we got a divorce."

"Cheated?" he asked. "I'm sorry I had no idea."

"Well, why should you?" she asked him. "You um, you made it clear that you didn't support the marriage when you didn't come to the wedding, then never replied to my letters, texts, e-mails or..."

"Thats not why." Josh shook his head.

"No?" she asked. "Couldn't afford it, the plane fare..."

"No, not that." He said quietly.

"Oh." She said confused. "Why then?" she asked him.

"Josh." Anne interrupted as they turned around "I'm so sorry, but the cars are here."

He nodded. "Okay." He nodded before he turned back to Zara. "Can you come?" he asked "to the wake, I guess that's what we should call it."

"You want me there?" she asked him.

"I do. " he admitted.

* * *

"...I can't believe you never told me about Zara!" Anne exclaimed to Gilbert as they went to in bed that night. The lights were low and the bed was comfortable he looked at his wife as she got in the bed beside him.

"I didn't know there was anything to tell!" Gilbert defended. "Was I meant to deduce from him mentioning her a couple of times that he was madly in love with her?"

Anne grinned and looked him in the eyes "and how many times did you mention me to Josh pry tell?"

Gilbert chuckled "You know Anne-girl, you were always on my lips." He said with a smile to her which made her blush "Gods! If only that were true!"

Anne laughed "excuse me?" she asked him "but who was it pray tell who I made out with in a park two years..." she said chuckling "...before we even got together?" she said with a smile.

"You mean before you heartlessly abandoned me." He flirted with a glint in his eyes.

"Oh I abandoned you?" she smiled turning on the bed one leg going over him sitting on his legs straddling him.

"Heartbroken!" he grinned at her. "To be so close to someone I loved so much." He said carefully bringing her closer to her "...and oh my god! Those lips!" he said intoxicated by her "those lips, I had such vivid dreams about those lips..." he trailed and looking at her "that mouth, those eyes." He smiled as she kissed him. He relaxed as his hand rested at the bottom of her hair he could feel the silk chemise under her hair but it wasn't the silk he went for his fingers twirled into her hair she pulled back and looked at him "and your hair." He chuckled.

She giggled and looked him in the eye "You know I was thinking of cutting it." She told him.

His forehead crumpled in dissatisfaction of her tease. "Yeah the whole lot off, maybe dying it..." she continued.

With this he looked seriously at her "You're teasing!" he asked her.

She giggled again and whispered "What would you do if I were serious?" she asked him.

"Cry." He chuckled kissing her again his hands going deeper into her hair. She pulled back and looked him in the eyes "No, in all honesty..." he told her, "I love you no matter what." He said "Red hair, green hair..." he chuckled as she laughed with him "I love you. For all your unpredictability."

She smiled taking it more seriously her lips met his passionately. Pulling back she whispered "So, what do you think?" she asked him. "Josh... and Zara?" she asked him.

He chuckled some more, "trust you to expect me to get turned on while you think of someone elses love life."

She looked at him sentimentally "don't you think the idea of it would be romantic? After all this time?" she asked.

"And I suppose our story isn't?" he asked her. "don't you get enough romance from it?"

"Don't you want your _best friend_ to have romance in their life?" she asked him.

"I do." He agreed "that's why _I_ married _her_." He teased.

She slapped him playfully "You know I mean Josh." She told him.

He laughed "and another reason why I love you." He told her "you want to share all the love in the world!" he said a glint of admiration in his eyes. "Want to share it with me too?" he asked her.

She leaned over him with a coy smile. "Josh and Zara can wait until tomorrow."


End file.
